Must Love Dog Demons
by Zunatora
Summary: What happens when you put demons and humans together in the modern day? Can love last in this world? Find out as Kagome tries to live a normal teenage life. *Warning: Kikyo bashing is possible in later chapters!*
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first fan-fiction for Inuyasha. I haven't been writing fan-fictions for about 7 or 8 years now, so I may be a bit rusty. I really am enjoying writing this and I hope that you enjoy reading it even more. I do have someone who edits for me but I know that as only humans, both of us can miss a few things here and there. I do ****ask that if you find any mistakes, let me know and I will fix them as soon as I can!**

**I welcome constructive criticism completely, and I also welcome any opinions on this story. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think! Hopefully I will be able to update at least once a week, more if I can. Enjoy! **

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><p>Must Love Dog Demons<p>

Chapter 1

The sun shines through my window, creeping between the curtains as my alarm starts to go off. Rolling over to look at the clock, I suddenly realized that this was the first day of a new school year... I jump out of bed in a hurry, not wanting to start this year like I typically do by being tardy. I grab my school uniform that I had set out the night before and begin to get dressed. I walk down stairs and instantly smell mom's cooking.

"Tamagoyaki?" I ask her as I walk into the kitchen. I spot mom's figure at the stove. As she turns around to put something on the table, she looks up at me.

"Good morning, Kagome!" Mom responds with a smile. Mom's short brown hair looks perfect as always, and her fair skin seems to glow this morning. "I thought maybe you and your brother would enjoy a nice breakfast before your first day back to school."

"Mom, you know us too well!" I tell her as I cross the hall back to the stairs. "Sota! Hurry up, mom is making tamagoyaki for breakfast!"

Just as soon as I have said it, Sota's small figure comes running down the stairs and passes me almost before I even see him. I can barely tell his black hair was still in a mess! I walk back into the kitchen and see that the table is covered with food. Steamed rice, miso soup and tamagoyaki are sitting on the table at each seat. I sit down next to Sota and mom, then realize that grandpa hasn't come down for breakfast yet.

"Mom, is grandpa coming down for breakfast?" I ask, looking a little worried.

"He should be down in a few minutes, dear." She reassured me. "Go ahead and dig in you two! We can't have you running late for the first day of the new school year."

Sota and I smile in thanks to our mom for the breakfast and dig in. My omelet has some spinach in it, just the way I like it! As for the rice and soup, they are just right to start eating. Sota just about inhales his food and excuses himself to go brush his teeth and hair. I finish shortly after and do the same.

As I walk up the stairs, I see grandpa's short figure and gray beard. His gray hair is pulled back as always and he's wearing his usual clothes. What did he say about those clothes again? Something about them being the attire of a Shinto Priest? He always tries to teach me this stuff, and I never seem to remember it.

Grandpa greets me good morning and walks into the kitchen for breakfast. As I reach the top of the stairs, Sota is walking out of the bathroom and back to his bedroom. I walk into the bathroom and start to brush my teeth, beginning to wonder if anything interesting will happen this year at school. Everything seems to always be the same, nothing interesting ever really happens. I mean sure, I have some of the best friends I could ask for; we do all kinds of fun things together. As I continue to wonder I finish brushing my teeth and start on my hair. I also admit that I have an incredible boyfriend...Just as the thought passes through my head, I hear a familiar husky voice from outside. "**Koga..." **I think to myself as I make sure my hair is all groomed. I tuck it behind my ears, letting it fall over my shoulders. I run to my room and grab my book bag and head downstairs. As I run past the kitchen I tell mom and grandpa goodbye and rush out the door. As I do I run straight into something hard as I hear a gruff sounding laugh.

"Good morning Kagome! Where are you rushing off to this early?" I look up to see Koga still laughing softly and smile up at him. Hi dark black hair is pulled back in his usual ponytail. His pointy demon ears stand out against his hair. Koga is a wolf demon, but not many people know that. Demons and humans live together in peace, but only certain people can see demons for their true selves.

"I think you know that I was headed to school when I ran into you..." I hit him in the shoulder playfully and he laughs even more.

"Kagome, you know I came to walk to school with you. Don't act like you didn't think you would run into me this morning...though I didn't expect you to LITERALLY run into me." Koga looks at me with look that is half worry and half playful. "Are you okay? You hit your head a bit hard, didn't you?"

"I'm fine, Koga...don't worry so much about me!" He pulls me close to hug me, kissing the top of my head sweetly. "You know we better hurry if we don't want to be late to school. Koga..." I mumble.

He lets go of me and looks at me, knowing that I had a point. We start toward the stairs at the front of the shrine. Living at the Higurashi Shrine is great most of the time, but the worst part is walking up and down all the stairs that lead to it. Koga and I quietly descend the long set of stairs as quickly as we can. Once we reach the bottom, we meet two people.

"Kagome!" Sango runs to me and hugs me so tight that I almost stop breathing. She lets go of me and looks at Koga and hugs him too. Her long, dark-brown hair is pulled back into a high ponytail. "Koga! It feels like it's been ages since we've seen each other, you two!" Looking at her after she is done hugging Koga, I notice how her brown eyes are sparkling in the morning sun. Sango comes from a long line of demon slayers, allowing her the ability to see a demon's true form. She naturally knows that Koga is a wolf demon, but also that he isn't much a trouble-causing demon. At least not like the demons that her family takes care of.

By now Miroku has walked over to us. His short ponytail is barely visible but I can see his gold earring shining. His deep blues seem to be gleaming this morning, which isn't unusual when he's with Sango. "Hello Kagome, Koga!" He greets with a small smile. He's acting calm and collected as usual. I walk over to him and give him a hug. Koga then gave him a firm handshake and a small "bro hug". Miroku can also see demons' true forms because of the fact that he comes from a family of monks who deal specifically in demon exterminations. Even though he knows Koga is a demon, he holds him close as a friend.

"Sango...it was JUST last week that we went shopping together for school..." I say, turning back to her. She begins to giggle and looks at me with a big smile.

"I know, but last week was still break for us. Everyday since then has felt like it took forever to pass by!" She replies with a smirk. We start to walk down the sidewalk to the school as we talk. "So how have things been since last week, Kagome?"

"Uhh... well pretty boring actually...Not much has been going on except for the date Koga took me on Friday." I said looking at her. "How about you?"

"Oh you just have to tell me what happened on your date then!" Sango replied excitedly. We both looked back at the guys, who were obviously lost in guy talk and oblivious to us now.

"Well, if you really want to know, then I guess I have no choice." I start to think back to Friday night. "Koga picked me up in the afternoon and he took me on a picnic. Then we walked through the park, but ended up getting soaked because it started to rain. Koga and I didn't check the weather report at all so we didn't even have an umbrella with us. He ended up taking me back to my house and my mom almost had a fit. She thought we were going to get sick so she made us change and sit on the couch wrapped in blankets. Koga ended up in some of my dad's old clothes, sitting on my couch, and sneezing for the rest of the day. It started out pretty great, but it wasn't one of our best dates..."

"Oh Kagome, I'm so sorry!" She frowns and looks as if the whole thing was her fault.

"It's okay, Sango! Koga and I are both better and I'm sure there will be plenty more dates to make up for it." I have to get that sad look off her face somehow. If my reassurance hasn't worked, then hopefully changing the subject will. "So tell me what's been up with you!"

"Well," she said looking back at me, now smiling. "Miroku took me out Saturday for some time together before school started. It was so romantic spending the whole day with him and doing all sorts of things. We went on a walk through the mall, ate at some fancy restaurant, and spent some time talking. I mean _really_ talking too, nothing but serious. Then we fell asleep under the stars together." She giggles, peeking back at Miroku just one more time with a hint of blush spread across her fair skin.

"Wow, that sounds so amazing, Sango! You two are such a perfect couple. It really sounds like he's over that pervert stage he was going through last year. He seems to _really _love you." I say starting to trail off in thought about Koga. I was really starting to wonder if he was as perfect for me as I had originally thought when we started to go out. There wasn't as much of a spark between us in the past few months. Maybe it was because of summer break, but what if I was wrong about him? Sango breaks me out of my thoughts when she asks me a question, but I don't really hear it. "What did you say, Sango?"

"I asked if you were okay. You seemed like you got lost in some serious thoughts about something for a minute there." She looks over at me worried.

"It's nothing, Sango." I say blushing and giving her a smile. "I was just thinking about some things from the summer break is all..."

"If you say so, Kagome..." She gives me one last worried look before we reach the gates to the school. "Well, we're here at school already...seemed like the shortest walk to school we've ever had, right?"

I nod my head and look back at Koga and Miroku who realize we're at school. Koga walks up beside me and grabs my had, giving it a squeeze. I squeeze back, looking up at him and feeling the blush spread across my face just a bit. "So I guess we better get to class, huh?" He says.

"Yea, guess so..." I say while looking at the school. Nothing had really changed over summer, but it feels like something HAD changed. I can't see it yet, but I can feel it right now.

As Sango, Miroku, Koga and I walk into our class, which we luckily have together, we notice who the teacher is: Mrs. Kaede. We all greet her kindly, all having known her for most of our lives, and take our seats. We still have about ten minutes until the bell should ring, so we sit at the back of the classroom. We start to talk quietly to one another.

"Hey you guys wanna go on a double date this Friday night?" Sango asks kind of randomly. "Miroku and I had some ideas of what we wanted to do Friday but...they just wouldn't be as fun by ourselves. If you guys wanted to come, it would really be nice."

I look at Koga for a while, and he looks from me to Sango and back. "I think we could do a double date Friday night. Right, Kagome?"

I blink at him and look at Sango, full of surprise. This was sudden, and kind of not like Koga to agree like this, but..."Sure Sango! We would love to." I smile at her and then look at Koga, blushing some. He leaned over to me and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. "So what were you guys thinking for this...double date?" I ask, looking back at Sango.

Sango looks over at Miroku and giggles. "I think we're going to leave that a surprise for you guys. But it's going to be great, I promise!" She giggles once more and the bell rings.

As I turn around in my desk to face the front of the room, I notice a strange boy has just walked into class as the bell finishes ringing.

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><p><strong>Cliffhanger! Remember to tell me what you think! Chapter 2 will be up very soon, I promise!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I decided to up to add a new chapter just because I see to be writing most of my chapters pretty quickly. I'm starting to hope that I can update maybe twice a week. I won't babble on any more, so enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

"Ye are just in time for class, young one..." Mrs. Kaede acknowledges the boy as he walks in. "I'll excuse ye this time since ye look like a new face in this school. What is your name?" She asks him.

The new guy has long silver hair, already attracting my attention immediately. Stranger then the silver color of his hair are the dog ears on the top of his head. When I finally get a good look at his face, I can tell he has golden eyes. Things start to add up in my head and I finally realize why he looks so weird when I hear Koga in front of me. Koga is quietly scoffing at something about a "mutt" and how he smells terrible. It just hits me when I hear that. This new kid is a half demon... a half dog demon at that.

"Thanks Mrs. Kaede..." The boy says looking at her and then around the room. His eyes stop on me and we lock eyes. He looks surprised at first and then a little upset. "My name is Inuyasha...and I _am_ new here, so I got a bit lost!" He answers her in a defensive tone, still staring at me. I look away not understanding why he is looking at me that way. Mrs. Kaede directs him to his seat, which is next to mine. When he sits down, I hear him growl softly. I look over at him, not sure what to really think, and he looks back at me. We lock eyes for a long moment and only when Mrs. Kaede addresses me do we look away from one another.

"Kagome... Since ye seem so intrigued by our new student, would ye mind helping him get settled in?" Mrs. Kaede made it a bit obvious that Inuyasha and I had just been in a staring match of some sort. I blush just a little because I'm embarrassed by the whole scene. I look down and let her know that I will as quickly as I can, trying not to draw things out. "Good. Thank ye, Kagome. Inuyasha, I do believe ye will be in good hands. Now, let us begin our day."

The class begins with the traditional bow. Mrs. Kaede starts handing out papers to everyone and afterward. Things seem to have gone back to normal. I try to pay close attention, but I can't help but feel _his_ eyes on me, burning holes into me somehow. Whenever I sneak a small peak at him between Mrs. Kaede's lectures, he looks away from me. I know he looks pretty mad or upset with me for some reason.

Mrs. Kaede goes over several things we need to know for the class, all of which are also on the papers she passed out earlier. We are assigned our textbooks then. Mrs. Kaede gives us our first assignment, which is homework to read the first chapter of the book. Just as Mrs. Kaede begins to tell us about some kind of essay assignment that we have to do this year, the bell rings. She sighs and says she will tell us about the assignment tomorrow. With that we start our ten minute break between classes.

Koga gets up and turns to me. I stand up next to him and look up at him. He softly kisses me on the lips, and I can tell it's mostly an attempt to let the new guy know to stay away from me. Koga then tells me that he's going to go stretch while I deal with the "mutt".

After Koga walks off, I look over at Inuyasha. He was staring at Koga as he walks away, growling almost inaudibly. He notices me looking at him and he growls again, something I don't understand at all still, and just glares at me. I decide not to let it bother me and I brush it off.

"So, need any help with anything?" I ask him as nice as I can.

"What's it to you, anyway?" he says in an angry tone.

"Well...Mrs. Kaede asked me to help you get settled in and I said would. So I figured, what the Hell, I might as well help you, and...I mean we're going to be sitting next to one another most of the day for the next year. So why not?" I tell him as I sit back down.

"Fine..." he growls, standing up as well. "I guess you can tell me when lunch is." He sits back

"Well," I start to think about it. "We just finished our first lesson, so lunch should be after the fourth lesson of the day."

"Great..." he scoffs at me. "So I have to sit here next to you for...what? Another three hours?" His tone is really biting at me. I almost want to slap him, but that won't get me anywhere. I just brush it off and look up like I'm in thought.

"Well, if you put it that way, then I guess you will happy to hear that after lunch you'll have a whole hour away from me.

"What for?" he asks gruffly.

"For P.E." I tell him looking over at him. "Everyone has to take it, our class just takes it after lunch." I get up from my desk and start towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" He begins to question me in a rude tone. He can't expect that I would spend the whole day with him. I didn't even give me the chance to tell him that I would show him where the gym is. I wasn't leaving, even if it is break!

"I was _going _to show you the gym for P.E., Inuyasha. But if you don't want to know how to find it yourself, that is perfectly fine with me!" Inuyasha just about flies out of his chair and is by my side.

"Alright, fine!" He spits out the words like he's trying not to hit something...or _someone. "_Lead the way, Kagome." He actually said my name in the weirdest way, like he was making fun of it.

"Alright, Inuyasha. Just follow me and after lunch you will be free of me for the rest of the day. At least I'm sure you can find your way back to class after gym, right?" If this will get him off my back for the rest of the day, I think I might the rest of the day.

"Just show me the way, will ya?" He chuckles gruffly and looks at me while we walk. "Just my luck...getting stuck with you for most of the day when I have to be stuck in school." He closes his eyes and folds his arms, still following me, without having any problems at all. It catches me off guard and I stumble over my own feet, but before I can fall someone grabs a hold of my arm and stands me back up. "Clumsy girl... Watch where you're going, will ya?" Inuyasha had been the one to catch my arm and stand me up? Well, he sure is being rude about it!

"I was wondering how in the world YOU were walking like you were! You weren't watching where you were going at all!" I complain to him.

But he just laughs at me. "At least I know I can do that; it's why I did it!" He continues to laugh as we walk. I can already tell this is going to be a LONG day.

After the first break ended, the rest of the day has seemed to go by way too slowly. It's bad enough that I'm in school, but having to spend most of it with Inuyasha has been like a death sentence so far. Actually, I think I prefer the death sentence. Probably. The guy barely talks, and when he does it is typically rude, and he hardly pays attention to class. I was just happy that today was the first day of school and all we really have to do is get our textbooks and listen to the teacher tell us what to expect in the coming school year. Truthfully, the more the day drags on, the more afraid I am to find out what tomorrow is going to be like.

Lunchtime has finally come, though, and I breath out a sigh of relief. As Koga and I are moving our tables around for lunch, Sango and Miroku move theirs. Inuyasha just sits quietly in his spot until Miroku notices him.

"Hey, Inuyasha, right?" Miroku asks politely.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Inuyasha eyes Miroku. I can't tell if he's just being rude again or if he just gets skeptic about new people.

"Just wondering is all. I meant no harm by it, Inuyasha." Miroku gave Inuyasha a smile and Inuyasha nodded. "It is nice to finally meet you. I'm Miroku, and this is my girlfriend, Sango." Miroku makes a gesture towards Sango, who in turns smiles and gives a small wave.

"I guess it's nice to meet you, too." Inuyasha eyes the both of them, almost sounding happy for the first time all day.

Miroku then points to Koga. "And that's Koga, who I'm sure you have already guessed is Kagome's boyfriend."

"Hmm, yea I already guessed that much about him!" Inuyasha has some annoyed tone now.

"Nice to meet you, mutt!" Koga laughs some and pats Inuyasha on the head.

"Back at ya, flea bag!" Inuyasha says as he smacks Koga's hand away.

"Inuyasha, would you like to sit with us for lunch?" Miroku has finally asked the question that I have been dreading this whole time. I silently sigh out of frustration as Miroku does this. I'm not sure how much more of Inuyasha I can put up with... and to my displeasure, Inuyasha takes Miroku up on the offer.

Sango and I sit next to each other so we can talk, while the guys sit on on the other side of the tables we had moved. Miroku sits in between Inuyasha and Koga, but still right across from Sango. As I start to pick at my box lunch, I have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. It certainly isn't hunger pains... I can feel something coming, and it isn't going to be a good something!

Sango looks at me worried and asks if I'm okay. I assure her that I'm fine, and it's just a stomach cramp or something. Koga and Miroku are already deep in conversation about something to do with P.E.

"So Kagome, are you looking forward to our double date Friday?" Sango turns to me. Truthfully I hadn't even thought about that all day with Inuyasha already making the day bad. I turn and look at her.

"Well, I don't even know what to expect, it being a surprise and all!" I smile kind of awkwardly. "I really don't know if I should be excited or not. I'm sure if you and Miroku planned it, though, I _should_ be excited!"

"Kagome, don't worry about it! It's going to be fun and totally make up for your last date being a failure." Sango giggles while taking a bite of her lunch.

"If you're going out with that Koga guy Friday, don't get too excited." Inuyasha interrupts the conversation and then scoffs.

"Why do you say that, Inuyasha?" Sango questions him. Confusion spreads on her face, as I'm sure it is on mine, too.

"I assume you two know what he REALLY is, right? I mean you hang out with him so I assume that somehow you know." Inuyasha looks at his lunch carefully.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" I ask, starting to get upset.

"Well, it's just that wolf demon's aren't typically good dates. So either Kagome loves punishing herself with a terrible date, or she just has bad taste in guys." Inuyasha starts to smirk and laugh under his breathe.

"What did you just say, filthy mutt?" Koga just heard what Inuyasha said and stood up. Koga is not someone that Inuyasha should insult so openly. This was the bad feeling I had earlier. These two were about to start something with each other.

"You heard me, wolf-pup!" Inuyasha stands up, too. The two of them square off, staring at each other with anger filled eyes. It almost looks like there's steam coming out of their heads as well. Koga clenches his fist and throws a punch at Inuyasha's face. Inuyasha catches Koga's fist, though, and starts to twist his arm.

By now, everyone in the room is watching Koga struggle against Inuyasha's hold on his fist. The tension grows stiff and starts to make me feel really uncomfortable. I have no idea how to stop these two or even if they can be stopped. Koga puts his free hand over Inuyasha's arm, gripping it tight. I could already tell that Koga was about to try and toss Inuyasha across the room. That has to be what his instincts are telling him to do right now.

I can't take anymore of this fighting though. I stand up abruptly and slam my hands on the table. "Stop it, both of you! You're only going to get yourself in trouble if you keep fighting like this!" It was all I can think to say.

The two look at me, surprised that I had said anything. Koga's grip loosens and he slowly lets go of Inuyasha's arm. Inuyasha stares at me a second, then lets go of Koga. Koga sits back down, not letting his guard down. Koga keeps his eyes locked on Inuyasha, who has his eyes locked on me. It starts to feel like a staring contest that neither of us will win.

"Inuyasha, what is your problem?" I shoot him the question. I'm starting to get a little mad with how he has been acting most of the day. Too much more of this, and I might just explode.

"What do you care?" He spits the words out with pure anger. "You only stopped that fight so your precious little wolf-pup wouldn't get hurt!"

"Is that what you think? Maybe it's true, but you haven't given me any reason to save your hide. We barely know each other, and you have something against me! Why should I care?" He really hit the wrong buttons this time, so I get in his face. "You only seem to care about yourself and your own little world. You're rude and sarcastic. Plus you act like everyone has done something to hurt you. Stop taking out all your anger on everyone around you, would you?"

"Yea whatever..." he mutters and starts to walk away angrily.

"Where are you going, Inuyasha?" Miroku shouts after him.

"Away from HER!" Inuyasha points in my direction while walking out the door of the classroom. He's gone, and I'm the one left standing here unable to speak through the anger.

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><p><strong>Sorry for another cliff hanger, but things are going to pick up soon, I promise! I hope you enjoyed chapter 2, look forward to chapter 3 first thing next week. Remember to follow and share if you like it so far! Thanks for reading! :D<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**I meant to have this posted like yesterday, or earlier today. I've been somewhat distracted/busy though. I hope you enjoy chapter 3 though guys! :)**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

After Inuyasha is gone, I'm still standing here. I just stare at his seat and feel the heat across my face from how mad I am still. I can barely hear Koga's comments about what happened over my own thoughts. I sit down as he goes on.

"I knew that mutt would be trouble, somehow! Half demons are always trouble-makers. That grip of his is weak. He wouldn't have been able to even take down Sango, I bet." Koga laughs at the thought and Sango shoots him a dirty look.

"I hope you only said that because I'm a strong demon slayer!" She keeps staring at Koga with a look I haven't seen before. Koga's eyes grow wide with realization of what he just said.

"Of course, Sango!" He says in a bit of a panic. "I didn't mean any disrespect for you, honest." Sango turns away from him, pleased and accepts his apology in silence. Truth is, Sango could kill Koga if she tried.

"I honestly don't think that we know all of Inuyasha's story here. There has to be more to his behavior than what we know." Miroku sighs and looks down at his lunch.

"Guys like him don't need an excuse to act out like that, Miroku." Koga looks at Miroku out of the corner of his eyes. Miroku turns to him to look at him better.

"Koga, have you noticed how he's acted towards Kagome all day? The more tense the situation got earlier, the more anger he presented towards Kagome. It's almost as if he knows Kagome, and that he has a reason to be mad at her." Miroku looks at me and back to Koga while he speaks. "Fighting you would have just been a way to let out all the anger that has built up in him."

"He does act like he knows me somehow, Miroku, but I'm not giving him any kind of benefit of the doubt! He's been rude to me all day and then exploded at Koga." I throw my hands up in frustration. I just want this to all go away now, even _if_ I'm still mad. "Inuyasha just isn't nice and I could care less if he comes back or if anything happens to him."

Miroku sighs as a sign that he gives up and turns back to his lunch. We sit pretty quietly through the rest of lunch. I pick at my food while I still think about the whole scene Inuyasha caused. Koga sensed my tension and grabs my hand. He gently rubs the back of my hand, trying to calm me down a little.

Pretty soon it's already time to clean up the classroom and set everything back up the way it's supposed to be. Inuyasha hasn't come back yet, so maybe he's gone for good. As soon as the classroom is back in order, the class begins to walk to the gym. Koga can still see that I'm pretty mad and I can already tell he aims to do something about it.

When we reach the gym, we have to part ways. But before we can part, Koga pulls me to the side. He hugs me tightly and I rest my head against his chest breathing in deeply. He puts a finger under my chin and lifts my face to his. He puts his lips to mine gently at first, but the kiss begins to grow rough. He starts to bite at my bottom lip, his fangs softly pulling at it. As I sigh against him, I feel him run his tongue across my bottom lip. It's like he's asking for permission to enter or something. I open my mouth slightly and feel his tongue pressing against mine. Soon our tongues are dancing together passionately, his tongue leading. Then his tongue dominates mine in a fierce battle. I barely put up a fight, I just melt into it. That's just what Koga is hoping for, though. I sigh again, starting to enjoy myself and relax. Koga kisses me, pulling at my bottom lip gently again. He starts to trail a few kisses up my jawline until he reaches my ear. He whispers my name as if it's just a soft breeze that passes by my ear. Then he starts the trail of kisses down my neck.

Sango starts to call for me, though. It's almost time for gym and we still have to change. Koga sighs against my neck. He pulls his head away from the crook of my neck and hugs me close to him for a second. He kisses the top of my head and lets me go. I tell him that I will see him after P.E. and run off towards Sango. Sango and I rush into the girl's locker room and try to change quickly. Then we hurry out to the gym and see our classmates standing in line together. We line up with the other girls and wait for the teacher to come. When the teacher shows up, we bow and begin class with our daily exercises. After that we are free to play volleyball.

Sango started to question me about the kiss with Koga, almost immediately when we were free. I tell her it was his way of calming me down from everything that has happened today. She looks at me questioningly as we grab a volleyball.

"Kagome, is what happened at lunch still bothering you?" She looks a bit upset herself.

"Sort of..." I'm not sure what to tell her. I'm not even sure what to think anymore. "I mean... Inuyasha just made me so mad today. It all just built up to that one moment before he left. He acts like I did something wrong to him, but I barely said anything to him today!"

"Kagome, maybe it wasn't something _you_ did, though. It could be part of his past that came back to haunt him when he saw you?" Sango is starting to act like Miroku. Defending someone because we don't know them, that's his style. Sometimes they're right to do it, but I don't think this is one of those cases.

"I don't know, Sango. I'm not even sure I really care anymore. He's just been so rude and cold that it makes me wish he would leave." I sigh looking at my feet. Wrong thing to do, though, because as soon as I do, the ball hits my head.

"Kagome are you okay?" Sango rushes over to me. I hold a hand to my head where the ball hit and feel a lump starting to swell up. Sango looks at it touches it, making me flinch in pain. "Sorry, Kagome! I didn't mean to knock you in the head with the ball."

"No, no. It's fine, Sango." I look up at her and try to wipe the look of pain off my face. "It was totally my fault for not watching the ball. Let's practice spiking the ball or something?"

"If you're sure, Kagome." Sango shoots me a worried glance. "If you really want to practice spiking, then get to it." She tosses me the ball and we start to practice for the rest of class.

P.E. Passes by so quick that I barely notice when it's over. Sango and I get changed in the locker room and make our way out to the hallway. Koga and Miroku are there to greet us and we start our walk back to the classroom. Only a few more classes to sit through, then I am free for the afternoon! I just hope that Inuyasha doesn't ruin the rest of the day by acting out again.

"So guys, how was P.E. outside?" Sango asks cheerfully.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Sango. Soccer out in the field as usual." Miroku states like it was dull.

"Well, at least that Inuyasha kid wasn't there to screw up things!" Koga adds to Miroku's statement with a laugh.

"Inuyasha wasn't in P.E.?" I ask with a bit of interest.

"Yea, it's as if the guy disappeared altogether when he left lunch." Koga answers as if he was amazed. He quickly changes the subject, though. "So, how was P.E. inside?"

"Well, Kagome got a nasty bump on the head." Sango tells him as we walk into our class.

"What?!" Koga starts acting worried and looks around my head. He suddenly finds the swollen lump on the back of my head. "Kagome, what the Hell happened?"

"Well, I looked down for a second and wasn't watching the ball. It hit me pretty hard but I'm fine, honest!" I hold up my hands in protest to Koga trying to do anything more then look at the bump. As we sit down in our seats he leans towards me to plant a kiss on my head.

The bell rings shortly and everyone waits for Mrs. Kaede. Sango leans over to me and whispers in a hushed voice so only I can hear her.

"Looks like you got your wish, Kagome." She points to the seat next to me, which is empty. "Inuyasha hasn't shown up since lunch at all..." She sits back up in her seat and just looks at me.

I keep looking at the chair next to me. Inuyasha hasn't been seen since he walked off during lunch. That just hit me and it is starting to bother me. Why does it bother me now? He was the one who had a bad attitude and walked off. So why am I worried? Could Sango be right, though? Could there be something from his past haunting him because of me, even if I have never known him before now?

It catches me off guard when Mrs. Kaede walks into the room. Class begins as normal, and the day starts to run smooth. Without Inuyasha around, class just seemed like a breeze. But I couldn't help but think about him and what might be wrong. He doesn't show up at all during the remainder of class or even the break between classes. I pull Sango into the hallway, using the bathroom as an excuse to get her alone.

"Sango, I thought about what you said during P.E." I look at her as we walk. "I'm starting to worry about him..." She looks at me, trying to stay positive.

"Kagome, it's going to be fine. I'm sure he just took off and didn't want to return to classes today. He should be back tomorrow, right?"

"Sango, I'm not even sure he left the school. What if his past _is_ haunting him because of me? What if he doesn't come back because of it? This is all my fault!" I start to panic just a little. Sango wraps one arm around me.

"Kagome, if it's his past, it isn't really your fault. He needs to face it and come to terms with it if he wants to be able to live. If you feel this bad about it though, why don't you look for him after school? Chances are he's hiding out somewhere around here."

"I guess I could...but I have no idea what to say to him." I sigh and look down at my feet.

"Just start out by telling him you're sorry for earlier. From there maybe you can ask what's bothering him, since it's been so obvious that something _is_ bothering him." She smiles and squeezes me. I nod, thinking about what to do.

We head back to class and sit down just in time for the bell to ring. We have one more class to have to go through before I can deal with Inuyasha. Before I even know it though, the class is over and everyone is starting to pack up their things. I guess I just worried through the class so much that I didn't really notice anything else.

"So Kagome, I was thinking maybe we could study at your place this afternoon?" Koga breaks through my thoughts as we stand up. I look up at him a little dazed.

"Oh, um. I guess we could, Koga. But I have something I have to take care of before I can go home today."

"Oh, okay then, Kagome." He shoots me a look of worry. "Do you want me to wait for you? Or I could go with you?"

"It's okay, Koga." I smile up to him. "This is kind of personal, so you can go on ahead. I'll catch up with you guys later!"

"Alright, Kagome. Whatever you say." He hugs me tight and kisses me goodbye. "Call me when you get home!" Seems that in Inuyasha's absence, Koga had gone back to his normal happy state. He walks out the door, leaving me with Sango and Miroku.

"So you're going to search for Inuyasha?" Miroku asks after he's sure Koga is out of demon earshot. I shoot Sango a questioning glare and then look at Miroku.

"How did you know?" I ask. He hands me a piece of folded paper with Sango's writing on it. "Oh, Sango told you, _that_ figures. Well, I _am_ going to look for him, but only because I need to make peace with him!"

"Are you sure it isn't because you're worried about him?" Miroku asks with a snicker.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, Miroku!" That starts to feel like a lie as soon as I say it. "I just want to make sure he's coming back and that more drama like this afternoon doesn't happen if he does." I turn away and walk towards the door. Miroku and Sango just stare after me, not sure of what's going to happen. I'm pretty sure I'm one the same page as them, though, because I don't have any clue what is about to happen neither.

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><p><strong>So, another cliff hanger of sorts, I guess. Things are about to pick up in the story though, I promise! Chapter 4 should be out later this week, so be prepared for a bit of emotions and a little bit of action! See you then! ;D<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Here it is, chapter 4! There isn't much to say, so I'll let you read. Enjoy! :D**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

I walk into the hallway and look around. Not seeing any signs of Inuyasha yet, I walk through some of the other hallways, being sure to look everywhere. Inuyasha could be hiding anywhere. There's still no sign of Inuyasha inside the school, so I decide to go outside and look. I search around the gym first, looking across the soccer field and the outside basketball courts. After finding nothing, I search around the outside of the main school building and the courtyard. Still I find no signs of Inuyasha.

Just as I am about to give up, I look up towards the roof in frustration. Then I see him. He's been on the roof this whole time, no doubt to be alone. He looks so peaceful up there that it almost makes me want to leave him be. I know better then that, though. This has to be resolved if we're both to ever have peace at school. I head to the stairs and climb them as fast I can. Once I reach the door to the rooftop, I open it quietly. Inuyasha doesn't act like he hears me or knows that I'm there.

"What do you want, Kagome?" I jump at the sound of his voice, even though I know he probably heard me coming up the stairs. He _does_ have dog demon hearing after all. I still wasn't expecting to hear him speak to me, though. "Look, if you aren't going to answer me, then why don't you just leave me the Hell alone?"

"Inuyasha..." I start out in a small voice, not sure how to say what I wanted. "I just came to apologize to you. I have no idea what might have happened that made you hate me so much, but I don't want class to be a battle zone. In class we should be able to get along since we're stuck sitting next to each other. Outside of class, you can avoid me as much as you like, though."

"Kagome, that might be easier said than done." He says, not looking at me still.

"Why is that? What is it bothering you that much?" I ask him, beginning to wonder about it. He looks away from the skyline to look down at his folded arms.

"I guess I might as well tell you. Thing is, I _don't_ hate _you."_ He sighs and looks back at the skyline. "Kikyo is who I hate. I don't know how, but you look _just_ like her." It almost sounds like a growl. Whoever this Kikyo is, she must have hurt Inuyasha quite a bit.

"What did she do to hurt you so much?" I can barely get the question out in a whisper. I'm not even sure I want the answer.

"Does it matter?" He finally looks at me. The pain is obvious in his eyes. "Kikyo was everything to me!" He has his teeth bared and looks ready to snap. "I loved her, but she didn't love me! It felt like she shot me with an arrow when she told me." Inuyasha looked away from me again. "I thought I was over her, but you proved me wrong, Kagome. I saw you this morning and thought you were her. It pisses me off!"

I don't know why, but Inuyasha's words start to hurt. Tears start to blur my vision and I can barely hold them back. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry. I had no idea..." I can't hold the tears back anymore and they rush down my cheeks. Inuyasha looks at me, but I can't tell anything else about him through the tears.

"Ah come on. What are you _cryin'_ for?" Inuyasha sounds angry still, but I continue crying. "Would you stop that? Damn it, Kagome, there's no reason for you to cry!" He doesn't sound as angry now. Maybe he feels guilty. "Kagome, I didn't mean to make you cry. Look..."He sounds worried now, but definitely still upset. He walks towards me until there's barely any distance left between us. "Kagome, I'm sorry."

I cover my face with my hands. I can't help but to sob into them now. Why can't I stop crying? Suddenly I feel two strong arms wrap around me, though. Inuyasha is hugging me? Does he really feel so bad about making me cry?

"Look Kagome, maybe we can start over here. Forget about Kikyo and what happened today." I look up at him in confusion. "I can at least try to get along with everyone while I'm here. We do have to sit next to each other almost all day, and I don't want to spend every day in my own personal Hell." Inuyasha laughs as I wipe my face.

"Are you sure about that, Inuyasha?" I'm not sure if he just said that to make me stop crying or if he means it. I'm so confused that I hardly notice how close our faces are.

"Yes, Kagome." He speaks quietly, his words brushing across my face.

His breath tickles my nose just a bit, and I realize what's going on. Inuyasha is about to kiss me! I freak out on the inside, I have no idea what to do. **"What about Koga? What if he finds out?" **But another part of me doesn't care what Koga thinks, and _wants_ this to happen. But then Inuyasha looks straight into my eyes, our lips barely an inch apart. He suddenly lets go of me, looking a little surprised. He backs away from me and turns his back to me.

"Kagome! I didn't mean to do that!" He stares off into the distance. He looks kind of mad with his fists clenched.

"Inuyasha! Calm down, nothing happened!" I can tell he's mad at himself, but he needs to calm down. If Koga so much as thinks something happened between us... I'm scared to even think of what might happen then! "Inuyasha, everything is fine. You were just caught up in a moment. You stopped yourself before it went too far."

He looks over at me, like he didn't believe me. "Are you sure, Kagome? You're okay with it?" When I nod at him he smirks devilishly and folds his arms. "Good, cuz I didn't wanna have to bust your wolf-pup's head in over something as small as this!" At least he was in a good enough mood to joke about things.

"Like you said, we walk away from here forgetting anything ever happened. We can start fresh, forget everything. Forget Kikyo, forget that we haven't gotten along all day, and forget the scene at lunch. What just happened can be another of those things?" He looks at me for a long moment before nodding in agreement.

It's starting to get late in the afternoon and I still have Koga to worry about. Inuyasha had offered to walk me home, but I told him I would walk alone because of Koga. So here I am, half way home and about to call Koga on my cell phone. As I dial the number, I hear something behind me. When I turn around, there isn't anything there, so I continue on my way. As I wait for Koga to answer his phone, I swear I hear another sound behind me. This time I ignore it though. It was probably just the wind, anyway. As I reach the stairway up to the shrine, Koga finally answers.

"Kagome! Are you okay?" He says before I get a chance to say anything. "What took you so long to call?"

"Koga, I'm fine! I was just trying to take care of a few things before I came home. It wasn't until I started home that I even realized how late I had let it get." I'm still not sure if I should tell him about the situation with Inuyasha. "Are you still coming over to do homework?"

"Why wouldn't I? You know I just want to spend time with you, Kagome." He chuckles softly into the phone. "I'll be over in a second!"

My phone clicked signaling the end of our call just as I reach the top of the stairs. I put my phone in my bag and head to the house. I hear a noise in the trees behind me that makes me stop, though. It can't be Koga, I would have heard him. Plus he never likes getting up in trees. I slowly turn around to see what I keep hearing.

When I look, though, there isn't anything there. Nothing was in the tree or even on the ground. I have a feeling that I'm not seeing something that I should be. As I begin to head to the house again, though, someone is standing right there. I screamed, not expecting to see whoever it is. I drop my books and step back. As I look at him, Inuyasha gives me a funny look, like he had no idea why I screamed.

"What's the matter with you, Kagome?" He asks me while I'm still in a bit of shock. I cover my face with my hand and try to collect myself.

"Well, _maybe_ I just freaked out when I found out that a certain _someone_ followed me home!" I shout at him as I look up at him.

"So _this_ is where you live? The Higurashi Shrine?" He asks me as if he doesn't notice that I got mad at him.

"Yes, Inuyasha, it is." I pick up my books and then stand next to him. He's looking around the shrine almost like he knows this place. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure you got home okay! Got a problem with that?" He grimaces at me. His exact emotion is unclear, but I think he's a little upset and embarrassed right now.

"Inuyasha, you shouldn't be here..." I sigh and look towards the stairs. I can already see the mini twister coming down the street. "Koga is almost here, you really should go!"

"What for?" He laughs. I don't like the sound of his voice or the laugh. "I'm not scared of that petty wolf-pup. Besides, I can be here if I want!" He folds his arms with a smirk on his face. As soon as he says this, the mini twister we both have been watching reaches the top of the stairs. As it stops and the dust clears, Koga is left standing with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"So, what' the worthless mutt doing here? I thought he didn't like us!" Koga shouts as he scowls at Inuyasha.

"I cleared things up with him after school. Inuyasha only wanted to make sure I got home safely!" I start to walk over to Koga so I can calm him down. "He was about to leave now, Koga."

"No, let him stay. I have a few things I wanna talk to him about." Koga moves closer to Inuyasha but I move in between them. Koga doesn't look at me at all, though. "You stay away from Kagome, you filthy mutt! She's _MINE_!"

"Oh yeah? What if she doesn't _WANT_ to be _YOURS?" _Inuyasha steps closer to us. I can just feel the tension in the air. This is not going to end well. I know I need to move away so I don't get hurt, but I'm frozen in place.

"Please don't do this..." I look between them both, pleading them with my eyes as well as my words. "Please, don't fight! There isn't any need for this, you two!" I shout at them, but they don't pay any attention to me at all. I back away as the two close in on one another. They look ready to fight now.

"Kagome _loves_ me, for your information! What makes you think she would chase after a scroungy mutt like you, anyway?" Koga holds up a fist almost as if he's daring Inuyasha to make a move.

"Who said I want her to chase after me?" Inuyasha holds up a clawed fist next to Koga's. Why won't they listen to what I said? "If I didn't know any better, I would have to guess that you wanna settle this here and now."

"That's _exactly _what I plan to do!" Koga lunges at Inuyasha who quickly sidesteps.

When Koga misses, he runs forward and uses a nearby tree to launch himself at Inuyasha. This time Koga hits Inuyasha head-on and they both tumble to the ground. Inuyasha rolls over and jumps agilely into the tree above. Koga picks himself up and looks for his opponent. Suddenly, Inuyasha jumps down from his spot in the tree and tackles Koga to the ground. Koga grabs Inuyasha from underneath and the two start to wrestle on the ground.

By now I know that I can't stop them. I don't even think there would be anything that _could_ stop them at this point. I start to cry and fall to my knees. Why were they doing this... and why won't they stop? Why are guys so stupid? As I sit and cry into my hands, the fight continues.

Koga had thrown Inuyasha off of him already. Now he is standing there, facing Inuyasha with his fists ready to punch. Inuyasha has his claws ready to use at any given moment. Both seem to have their fangs bared at the other. Inuyasha begins to run at Koga, drawing back one clawed hand. As Inuyasha comes closer, Koga readies himself and then jumps into the air at just the right moment. He spins around and kicks Inuyasha in the face with both feet. Koga lands back on his feet steadily, while Inuyasha is sent face first into the concrete. Koga chuckles, taunting Inuyasha now. As Inuyasha pulls himself up off the ground, he wipes a trail of blood from his lip.

"Is that all you got, wolf-pup?" Inuyasha asks as he looks from the blood on his fingers to Koga. Koga chuckles again.

"What, you haven't had enough, mutt? Well, lucky you, I'm just getting started" Koga readies himself for another attack as Inuyasha laughs.

"So am I. Bring it on!" Inuyasha draws back his now blood stained claws. Was he bleeding that much? It couldn't be possible...

Koga moves first this time. He took a running start and flew through the air in a kick. Inuyasha had learned by now to avoid Koga's legs, though. He side-steps again and in the process also catches hold of Koga's leg. Inuyasha easily throws Koga across the way and into a tree. A cracking sound echoes through the area and Koga lands on the ground with a thud. Inuyasha leaps into the air, drawing back his blood soaked claws once more. He releases an attack on Koga that comes out like bloody claw marks in the air. Whatever it is, it was headed straight for Koga and it doesn't look like he can move out of the way in time.

Just then though, something comes hurdling towards Koga from out of nowhere. I recognize this though, it's Hiraikotsu! That means Sango is nearby! Hiraikotsu lands right in front of Koga who also recognizes it. Hiraikotsu absorbs the attack and Inuyasha lands on his feet, confusion spread across his face. Soon enough Sango and Kirara land next to the dueling pair. She doesn't look happy at all, and I almost feel bad for them.

"What are you two _IDIOTS _thinkyou're doing?" She immediately begins to scold them. "Are you two even aware of what has happened to Kagome?" She points in my direction. I just sit there, looking down as the tears fall from my face still. They all look at me and I hear Koga and Inuyasha curse under their breathe. "Seriously, who wants to explain what happened?" She grabbed Hiraikotsu from where it stood and held it close.

"I think that's something for Inuyasha to do. I'll go comfort Kagome and get her in the house..." Koga speaks quietly as he stares at me. Sango shoves Hiraikotsu in front of Koga as he tries to walk towards me.

"Koga, if you don't want to explain anything to me, then I think it is best that you go home and take care of yourself! I will take care of Kagome and let Inuyasha here tell me what the hell you were both thinking." Koga just stares at Sango. He's pissed off, but he knows better than to push her. He starts to walk the other way, only pausing at the top of the stairs.

"Kagome, I'm sorry..." He sounds pretty upset, but I can hear the sad tone in his voice as well. He takes off in a rush down the stairs and away from here.

Sango and Inuyasha talk for a second in hushed voices so that I can't hear. Inuyasha leaps into a tree and sits there. Sango then comes over to me and kneels next to me. She grabs my hands and looks at me for a long second.

"Kagome, are you okay? You aren't hurt, are you?" She asks with worry in her voice. She looks me over and I look up at her.

"I'm fine, Sango. I just didn't know what to do when they started to fight. All I could think was: 'Why are guys so stupid?' I just wish today had never happened now." A single tear slowly slides down my cheek. Sango sighs and stands up.

"Come on, Kagome, let's get you cleaned up. It's getting a little late and I'm sure your mom will have dinner ready soon." She offers me her hand to help me up. Then she turns to Kirara and tells her to stay with Inuyasha. Kirara transforms into her normal kitten form and leaps into the tree next to Inuyasha. Sango and I head inside afterward.

As we walk into the house, we hear some noises in the kitchen. Mom must be making dinner already. She must have heard us, though, because she pokes her head out the kitchen door as we reach the staircase.

"Welcome home Kagome. Hi Sango!" Sango and I turn and wave at her. Mom smiles softly back. "Sango, I didn't know you were coming over. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Oh thank you, Mrs. Higurashi, but I don't want to impose on you." Sango has always been polite in these situations. My mom on the other hand can't take no for an answer sometimes.

"Nonsense, Sango! You're always welcome to join us for dinner here at the Higurashi house. I'll set a place at the table for you." Mom turns back into the kitchen and more noise starts as she goes back to cooking.

Sango and I head upstairs and into my room. I grab something comfy to change into and Sango pushes me to take a hot shower. I try to argue that I don't have time at first, but she wins. As I walk out of my room, I hear the window open. I guess Sango still wanted Inuyasha to explain himself. I ignore it and walk into the bathroom. I turn the water on and let it warm up while I take my clothes off. I step in the shower and let the hot water run over me.

I can't wash away what happened, but this at least makes me feel better. Sango was right to make me take a shower. The hot water warms my body and most of the day seems to melt away. After a few minutes, I remember that I need to hurry before dinner is ready. I quickly wash off and wash my hair out. I turn off the water as I step out and grab a towel to dry off. I throw on my clothes and towel dry my hair. Taking my brush with me, I walk back to my room. Sango is still sitting at the window which is still open. Inuyasha was leaning against the trunk of the tree he was sitting in with Kirara curled up in his lap. As I step into my room, they all look up at me.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" I ask out of confusion. "Is there something on my face?" I put my hand to my face and feel around for anything wrong.

"There isn't anything wrong, Kagome. We were just worried about you." Sango speaks softly to me as she walks over to me. She puts a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay now?"

"Yea, I'm way better. That shower really hit the spot." I look up at Sango and smile. "Thanks for making me do that, Sango."

"I knew you would feel better after a nice, hot shower. Come and sit by the window with me." She leads me over to the window where she was sitting before and we sit down. "Inuyasha had just finished telling me what happened earlier."

"Oh... So what now?" I ask unsteadily.

"Well, I don't know. Inuyasha has agreed to stop fighting with Koga." She looks at Inuyasha who is looking at the sky. "Koga is another story, though. I'm not sure he's going to stop wanting to do something about Inuyasha as long as he feels jealous." She sighs and looks back to me.

"He shouldn't be jealous of anything! Inuyasha and I agreed to be friends for the sake of peace at school. I don't see why Koga has to act this way..." I sigh and things are quiet for a long moment.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha looks at me and speaks quietly. I jump a bit when he says my name because I hadn't expected it. I look up at him in response. "Kagome, I'm sorry about today. I didn't really mean to start trouble with Koga." He looks back to the sky like he's thinking. "I couldn't stand the way he was talking, though!" He looks at me again, his face full of frustration. "I'm sorry, Kagome."

"I forgive you, Inuyasha." I look him straight in the eyes for a very long moment. The moment was broken when my mom called for Sango and I to come down for dinner. Inuyasha stands on the tree branch and places Kirara on the windowsill gently. He crouches down ready to leap from the tree branch to the ground, but I catch his attention before he can. "Inuyasha! Where are you going?"

"Well, I can't stay here all night. I guess I'm heading home." He hesitates a little before he leaps down to the ground. He looks back up at me once more and I wave goodbye. He nods his head at me and leaves.

Sango and I walk downstairs and into the kitchen just as mom puts the last plate on the table. We sit down next to each other and a normal dinner kicks off. Most of the meal was pretty quiet as everyone passed around the different dishes of food and ate. Towards the end of dinner, Sango and I start to pick up dishes and clean.

"Sango, you really don't need to do that!" My mom tells her. Sango waves her off politely, though.

"Mrs. Higurashi, it is the least I can do when you had me over for dinner unexpectedly." Sango smiles as she starts to wash the dishes she picked up from the table.

"Well, you _are_ Kagome's best friend, You're welcome to stay for dinner whenever you like." Mom smiles up at Sango. "So tell me, how is your family doing? Kohaku and your father doing alright?" I pick up some more dishes from the table and put them in the next to the sink. Sango grabs the stack and puts them in the sink and starts to wash them.

"They're both great! Kohaku said he enjoyed his first day back to school. My dad is enjoying work as always. Business has actually been picking up for him lately, so he's pretty happy about that." Sango doesn't look away from the dishes as she speaks, but she has a big smile plastered across her face. Sango loves her family, and talking about how happy they are is obviously making her glow.

"That's great news, Sango! I just want to say, you're father is doing a great job with you and Kohaku." Mom stands up and takes the last of the dishes to the sink as I start to clean the table off. "Sango, why don't you head home? I'll finish up here."

"If you're sure about it, Mrs. Higurashi. Thank you, again, for dinner." Sango dries her hands off as she steps away from the sink. I walk her to the door to say goodbye and she leaves quietly. After a long and hectic day, the night had just ended pretty quietly.

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><p><strong>Okay, this is where my chapters should all start to get pretty long. I won't make promises about cliff hangers, but things are going to get interesting! Because of the fact that my chapters will be getting longer, and the holidays nearing, I may not be posting 2 chapters a week. I do promise to get them out as soon as possible. I hope you're enjoying this story and keep reading, guys. Thanks for the support! :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is really late, and I apologize. Christmas week had me so busy that I didn't get a good chance to sit down and do anything, but here it is now! I hope you enjoy~ :D**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

The rest of the week passes by almost uneventful. The only time Koga tries to start anything, Inuyasha just ignores him and goes on with what he was doing. Koga eventually just gives up, deciding it isn't worth the effort he makes. Other then that, the week seems to be peaceful. Finally it's Friday, the weekend is in sight, and a break from the awkward silences and all the tension I feel at school.

When school lets out, Sango reminds me of something that I forgot. The double that Sango and Miroku had been planning all week was tonight. At this point, I'm not even sure that Koga still wants to go. On the way home, I walk next to him so that I can talk to him.

"Koga?" I look up at him as we walk. He looks down at me and smiles. This is the first time we've really talked almost all week. He looks kind of happy that I am talking to him.

"What is it, Kagome?" He sounds so calm and kind compared to earlier this week.

"Um, well... Sango reminded me about our double date for tonight, and I wasn't sure if you wanted to go still." I look away from him because I tart to feel uneasy about the whole thing.

"Well, sure, Kagome." I did not expect him to still want to go out tonight. "As long as you still want to, that is." I look back up at Koga and see that he's still got a smile on his face. It seems like he really does want to go. How can I say no that face now? Unable to really say anything else to him, I nod. In response he wraps an arm around me gently, and my head naturally rests on his shoulder. The rest of our walk home is pretty quiet after that.

After Koga drops me off at home, he takes off to get ready for our date. Sango and Miroku had said they would meet us at my house in only a few hours from now. I run up the stairs to the shrine and hurry into the house. After I greet mom and Sota who are in the kitchen, I run upstairs to my room. Since I had forgotten about this date, I never picked out an outfit. Now I need to look for one. I rummage through my closet and find my favorite pink dress.

There's still just enough time for me to take a shower before Koga will be back. I run in the bathroom and turn on the shower. As the water is warming up, I grab my toothbrush and brush my teeth. As soon as the steam in the shower starts to rise, I rinse my mouth and strip off my clothes. I step into the shower and begin to wash off.

A few short minutes later, I am rinsing out my hair and turning the shower off. I grab a towel and dry off, trying to get my hair as dry as I can. Then I get dressed and run the brush through my hair. My hair is still pretty wet so I grab the blow dryer to finish drying it. As I brush out my hair, I hear a knock at the door downstairs. Sota welcomes him and invites him in. Koga asks about me and Sota lets him know where I am. Then I hear mom greeting Koga and ask him to come sit in the kitchen with her for some tea. This is the perfect opportunity to add some finishing touches to my outfit.

I walk back in my room and grab my jewelry box. Looking through it for a few minutes, I finally come across the heart locket that Koga had given me last Christmas. It's a fairly large locket that has a picture of Koga and I together in it. After I put the chain around my neck and clasp it together, I search for my ring. Koga had given me this ring for our one year anniversary, and I love it so much that I don't like to wear it unless it's a special occasion. The slender silver band has an inscription on the inside that reads: "Love you always and forever. -Koga" It wraps around my finger just right and the pink sapphire sits atop it in a heart shape. After I slide the ring on, I grab my earrings and put them on as I leave my bedroom.

I quietly walk downstairs and head to the kitchen. I can hear Koga and mom talking about something but I can't figure out what. By the time I walk through the kitchen door, the two are kind of quiet. They look up at me as I walk to the table. Koga's eyes roam over me for a minute before he smiles.

"Kagome, you look stunning. More so than usual at least." He stands up next to me and takes my hand in his. His warm grip on my hand combined with his words make me blush slightly.

"Thanks, Koga." I lean up and kiss his cheek softly. "You're looking pretty sharp tonight, too." I look over him and notice that he actually has a dress shirt with a tie on. His tie isn't on straight, but I like it that way. The deep blue color of the shirt really compliments his eyes as well. I smile up at him brightly. "Have you heard from Sango or Miroku?"

"No, but they should be here soon." He shakes his head and looks at the door expectantly. Almost as if it is on cue, there is a knock at the door. Koga chuckles softly. "I knew it!"

I guide Koga to the door and grab the doorknob. I open the door a bit slow while still peeking around its edge. Sango and Miroku are standing just outside the door with smiles spread across their faces. I can already hear mom cleaning up in the kitchen, so I call out to her with a goodbye. Koga and I follow Sango and Miroku down the large set of steps to find a taxi waiting at the bottom.

After we all pile into the taxi, it slowly pulls away from the curb. Soon we are moving towards downtown. The taxi passes by all the lights of the city and I can't help but stare out the window at them all. We pass by several restaurants, each being more fancy looking than the last. I'm pretty glad that Koga and I had actually dressed up, now. Finally the taxi stops in front of Teppanyaki Restaurant and Sango tells us that this is our stop. We get out of the taxi and Miroku pays the driver as Sango leads us inside.

So, we've been sitting at the restaurant for 2 hours, just to wait for a table. Sango had made the reservations last week, before she even asked Koga and I to join her. At least she said she did... Apparently the reservation was never put in or lost. I hope this isn't just the start of another bad date. Finally after our long wait though, we are lead to a table towards the back of the large restaurant.

Sango and I sit at the corner of the table and Koga and Miroku sit on either side of us. As we wait for the chef to come out, Koga starts to make a joke about the chef he thinks we will get.

"At the rate we're going, I bet we're going to get one of the worst chefs this place has!" He chuckles and Miroku joins in.

"Yea, probably not even finished with his training, even." Miroku laughs now. I look at Sango a bit worried and she returns the look.

"Guys, don't say that! It might jinx us!" I start to complain to them. I turn to Koga and lightly slap his shoulder. Koga only laughs harder. Just then though, our chef steps up to the grill and the laughter stops.

Our chef looks like just a kid, barely out of high school maybe! I pray that I'm wrong in assuming things about him, but he can't be a very good chef yet. I'm starting to think that somehow everything Koga and Miroku were just joking about, just started to come true. The "chef" apologizes for the wait. He then informs us that he is the chef for the night seeing as the head chef, who would have been cooking for us, is terribly sick.

This new chef starts up the grill. He then proceeds to start cooking multiple things on the grill: shrimp, beef,and a few different veggies. He attempts to flavor the food, but it looks as if some things are getting more than others, and some aren't even getting any at all! Once it is all cooked, the food is put on plates and passed to each of us. The chef takes out an egg and tosses it in the air, trying to catch it with the spatula he was using. The egg bounces off the spatula and heads straight at Koga, who leans to the side to avoid collision. Though the egg misses Koga, it hits a waitress right in the back. She spins around and the tray she is holding rams into my head and then Koga's, who had just sat back up. Koga falls over and off his chair. The tray flips over top of him and the bowls that had been carried on it spill miso soup all over him as they crash to the floor.

"Koga!" I yell in surprise.

"Are you okay, sir?" The waitress asks. "I am so sorry about that!"

"Oh no..." Sango sighs

"Uh oh..." The chef whimpers.

Koga scowls up at the ceiling, unsure of where to aim his anger. He reaches a hand up to the table and pulls himself up. A few bowls fall as he stands up and he brushes off a few things that stuck to him. He growls under his breath and makes a fist on the table. Just as soon as Koga is off the ground, a man in a suit rushes over to our table. He must be the owner or manager.

"Sir, I am so very sorry for what just happened! Please excuse the waitress and the chef." The man starts to talk right away, noticing the anger on Koga's face. "Please, as the owner, allow me to pay for your whole party's meal to make it up to you!" He claps his hands together and bows to Koga in an apologetic way.

"Fine!" Koga lets out one last growl. He looks down at himself to see that his shirt is drenched in miso soup. "What am I supposed to do now that my shirt is soaked?" He shakes his head but the owner's head pops up to look at him.

"Well, since it is just your shirt, we could wash it in the back while you finish your dinner." The owner looks expectantly at Koga who looks back in surprise. "We wash all of the necessary clothes and even the chefs' attire in the back of the restaurant. It would be no problem to wash your shirt as well!" Koga nods his head and follows the owner.

Sango and I look at each other and sigh. I hadn't expected our night to take a turn for the worse this quickly. We sit back in our seats and wait for Koga to come back. The chef, who had been whimpering behind the grill this whole time, excuses himself and walks to the kitchen. Sango and Miroku start to whisper to themselves and I get the feeling that it has to do with the apparent bad luck this date has seen. Only a few minutes pass by before Koga is back and a waitress is with him. The waitress cleans up the mess that was left on the floor and soon Koga is sitting in his spot next to me once again. A different chef than before comes over to the grill and begins to prepare our food quietly.

The rest of dinner went by pretty quiet, and the owner let us stay as long as we wanted Koga changed back into his shirt and tie before we left for the next part of our date. I really am hoping that whatever we do next doesn't go wrong. Sango and Miroku walk ahead of Koga and I, leading us down the sidewalk to our next stop. I notice something that I haven't seen in a long time as we walk. Miroku has his hand spread across Sango's butt. I guess he hasn't completely let go of his perverted ways, but Sango isn't protesting. At least he isn't doing it to every girl he meets like he did before Sango asked him out.

We walk a few blocks and stop at an ice-cream shop. As we walk in, we are greeted by the lady behind the counter. She gets each of us a cone with two scoops of our choice of ice-cream into them. Koga and Miroku pay the clerk while Sango and I talk.

"So, I was thinking that we could take a walk while we eat our ice-cream Maybe go the park for some star gazing?" Sango says with a smile. Nothing can wrong with that plan, right?

"Sounds like a great plan after that horrible dinner..." I tell Sango. "Tonight is a full moon too, so the view should be great tonight!" Koga and Miroku walk over to us and smile.

"Okay guys, we are headed to the park for some star gazing! Sound good?" Sango asks as they taste their ice-cream

"That sounds almost as great as this ice-cream tastes, Sango." Miroku says in an oddly calm, yet happy voice.

"Star gazing? I think a little moon watching is in order, as well, Sango!" Koga adds. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

We head out of the ice-cream shop and back onto the sidewalks of the city, once more. Sango and Miroku walk a little ways in front of us, talking and laughing. The park is a pretty long walk from here, so I don't want it to be in complete silence. I look over at Koga and can't help but smile. He looks so funny when he eats ice-cream for some reason.

"So, pretty crazy night, huh?" I look back at my ice-cream and try to hide the fact that I was ready to laugh. Koga stops eating his ice-cream and looks over at me.

"Yeah, I really wasn't expecting it to turn out so bad." He looks back at his ice-cream "Sango and Miroku haven't had a single date go bad from what I hear."

"I know what you mean. Sango is always telling me how perfect the last date they went on was." I look at Sango and Miroku and how happy they look. I can't help but wonder how they manage to be so happy together all the time. "I'm sorry, Koga. I didn't mean to bring up how bad this started!" I can feel his stare, suddenly.

"Kagome, it's fine." I look back at him and we both smile a little. "Besides, this part of the date seems to be going so well. I don't think that something this simple could be ruined."

"I guess you have a point, Koga. Things are looking up!" Koga grabs my free hand with his and we lock fingers. I smile up at him brightly and give his hand a squeeze. "I can't wait to star gaze and moon watch with you." I laugh a little, making him smile more.

Soon the park entrance is in sight. We still have to cross the street to get there, so we stop at the crosswalk. As soon as the light is green for the crosswalk, we start to hurry across the street. About halfway across, though, some kid runs right into Koga and keeps walking. Koga's ice-cream drops from his hand and onto the street. Koga's fist clenches as he turns to see who ran into him. He barely even noticed that he dropped his ice-cream Now the light is flashing and we have to hurry, so we move on. On the other side of the street, Koga is still looking for who the guy who made him drop his ice-cream

Koga scowls and curses under his breathe. I guess the peace couldn't last long, after all. I look around, trying to see if I recognize anyone at all. As I turn back to Koga, my foot catches on a crack in the sidewalk. I start to fall forward but I end up falling against Koga's chest. He holds my arms tight as he looks down at me, but I don't want to look up at him. Ice-cream was all over Koga's shirt. I stare wide-eyed at the mess and back away slightly. I look up at Koga and he's looking down at his ice-cream covered shirt.

"I am so sorry, Koga!" I whisper, almost unable to say anything. I grab for my purse and rummage through it. "Let me try to clean it off." I say as I find a few tissues, finally.

"It's okay Kagome... I'm just glad you aren't hurt." He looks at me as I try to clean his shirt up. I'm able to wipe the ice-cream off for the most part, but the spot is left a bit damp and sticky. "Don't worry, Kagome. I'm sure I can get this out when I get home."

I nod my head but I don't look up at him. I'm not really sure that I want to see how upset he really is. He takes my hand, leading me towards the park. Sango and Miroku had already disappeared into the park earlier, so it was just Koga and I now. As we walk through the gates of the park, we hear some birds flapping their wings. We must have frightened them when we walked up. Just as soon as we hear them taking off, something white drops from above. A bird had just pooped and it ended up landing right on Koga's shoulder...

"God damn it! What else can possibly happen to ruin this shirt tonight?" He shouts up at the trees. He growls slightly and I hand him a couple tissues. Luckily he cleaned the bird poop off his shirt pretty easily, but the spot looked a little wet still.

Koga sighs and then leads me through the park a little ways. We find a nice bench that had a great view of the stars and the moon, and we sit down. The night sky is so beautiful tonight; it just makes things feel so right at the moment. I lean my head against Koga's shoulder, the one that the bird hadn't pooped on, but something seems off now. He felt like he was tensed up, ready for something to hit him. His face is still painted with a scowl.

"The moon is really beautiful tonight, isn't it?" I ask him. If something is wrong then, his answer will certainly show it now. He loves full moons, and if he acts like he doesn't even care, I will be able to tell if he's in a bad mood.

"Yeah, I guess..." He looks up at the moon, but he looks lost in thought. This wasn't the answer I expected. Something is definitely on his mind right now.

"Koga, I can tell something is on your mind. What is it?" I look at him but he won't look back. I don't think he's going to answer me straight. "Koga, please tell me! I just want us to be able to enjoy the end of our night together." He finally looks at me.

"Do you really want that, or are you just saying that?" He growls at me. This is not like Koga at all... "With everything that's gone wrong tonight, all I can think about is how terrible things are when we're together! For a long time now, all of our dates end in disaster. Tonight I'm wondering if maybe you wanted this date to be our worst!"

"Koga... Why would I want this date to be so horrible? That doesn't even make sense!" I turn around on the bench to look him in the eyes better.

"Maybe because you're in love with stupid mutt, Inuyasha? Does that ring a bell, Kagome?" Now he turns where he sits and looks at me. His face is getting a little red and I can tell he's pissed.

"What are you talking about? Why would I be in love with a guy that I barely know?" I throw my hands up in frustration. What is it with him tonight?

"I don't know Kagome! All I know is that you went off to find him after school Monday and he came home with you!" He's only starting to make me angry. He didn't have the right to assume that I did anything with Inuyasha. "What am I supposed to think when my girlfriend doesn't even tell me what's going on between her and a guy like that?!"

"Koga, you have no right to assume something happened! All I did was apologize to the guy and when I started to cry, he tried to calm me down. Maybe that's why I had his scent all over me, because he's a nice guy after all!" I start shouting at him out of anger. "Other than that, all he did was offer to walk me home. That is not something to get jealous over, Koga, nor is it a reason to assume that I'm in love with him!"

"How should I know that?" He stands up and stares down at me angrily. I look up at him, almost ready to cry.

"I told you that I apologized to him and he offered to walk me home. I know I didn't tell you any specific details, but I didn't think I needed to. Nothing happened, or else I would have told you! Can't you just trust me?"

"I thought I could, Kagome. But when that puppy came around, you started to act different. I can't trust him, I know that, but I feel like I can't trust you because of him..." He turns away from me, but I swear I see a tear fall from his face. "Kagome... I think it's best if we break up." My heart completely stops and I feel like I can't breathe. Is he serious? "I'm sorry, Kagome. It's better this way." He walks away as the tears start to slowly flow down my face.

I can't move a single muscle as if I'm just frozen stiff. Did Koga really just break up with me...because of Inuyasha? Was he being serious, or was he just saying that out of anger? He seemed pretty calm when he actually said it, and I swear he was crying when he left just now. He had to have been serious if he was crying. I don't know what else to do, but I really don't want to stay here . I don't care about Sango or Miroku and I would rather them not see me like this. I get up and I start to walk farther into the park.

This slow pace isn't enough, though. I begin to run, tears still running. All I want is to get away from that spot, almost as if it might just all go away if I do. Pretty soon my feet slow down when I notice a change in the path. It looks as if I'm in a pretty heavily wooded area now. Obviously I've gotten myself lost and that's the last thing I care about. I walk slowly through the trees and look for any signs of a walkway out, but find nothing. Blindly, I walk through the forest as it grows darker. The only light I have is the full moon now. I stare up at the moon, wishing that things would get better soon.

Taking my eyes away from the path I walked was a pretty bad idea though. I walk right into something hard. I stumble back a little and trip over a tree root. As I fall on my butt, I don't bother to look up at all. I wipe my face with my arm and rub my butt. It is already throbbing in pain a bit, but I don't think it's anything too serious.

"Stupid tree!" I shout as I look in front of me. What I see next makes me freeze in place, though.

"Who are you calling a stupid tree, you clumsy girl?!" A familiar husky voice echoes through the area. His silver hair glows under the moonlight. The dog ears on top of his head twitch ever so slightly as he stands there, arms folded, staring down at me.

"I..Inu...yasha?" It barely comes out louder than a whisper. He had caught me by complete surprise, and at such a terrible time too.

"Kagome, what the Hell are you doing out here all alone?" He offers me his hand to help me up. I hesitate to take his hand, but he helps me up easily. "Didn't you have some kind of date to go on tonight or something?"

"I did, but..." I drop my gaze to my feet, not sure what to say. "Wait, why are _you_ out here?"

"Me? I come out here to get away from my asshole of a brother!" He folds his arms again and tightens his eyes. "Now tell me what the Hell you're out here for!"

"I was here with Koga at the end of our date. I don't really want to talk about it, okay?"

"No, it is not okay. Why isn't he walking you home, then?" He moves a little closer to me, sniffing at the air between us. "Don't think you can give me a stupid answer either. I can smell the tears that have been on your face." I look up at him and I don't know what to say or do. I sigh deeply in frustration.

"If I can't lie, then you should know that I had a horrible date. Everything that was planned ended up turning into a complete disaster." Inuyasha sniffs again and narrows his eyes at me. He's pushing for more. Can he really tell there has to be more to this? "Alright! I'll tell you... Koga... broke up with me..." Inuyasha growls very low.

"What the Hell did he do something that stupid for?" He looks angry, but he isn't looking at me anymore. Instead he's looking into the distance between the trees. It seems as if he's trying not to point his anger at me.

"He said... Wait a second!" I turn sharply around and cross my arms in front of me. "Why should I tell _you_ anything? You're half the problem in this whole mess!"

"Alright, Kagome. If you don't wanna tell me anything, then I'll just leave." I can hear him starting to walk away. "Leaving you here all alone in the thickest part of the woods in the park. Hopefully you can find your own way out of here even though you're totally lost!" Inuyasha has a really sarcastic tone, but I turn around in a hurry. He has me worried about being lost now that I think about it.

"Wait, Inuyasha!" I shout after him. "Don't leave me here, please! I'll tell you everything if you walk me home?" He turns to face me with a smirk on his face. Inuyasha walks towards me and quickly grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. Before I can tell what's going on, I feel air start to rush over me and I close my eyes tightly. "Inuyasha! What are you doing?!"

I hear Inuyasha chuckle and and I peak my eyes open. Inuyasha is carrying me on his back across the tree tops! I gasp out of amazement but at the same time I clutch Inuyasha's shirt tightly. He feels my sudden grip on him and lands softly on a tree branch.

"What's the matter, Kagome?" He turns his head in my direction. "Not afraid of heights, are you? You don't have to worry, I got you." With that I feel a sudden warmth on my legs. Inuyasha's hands are firmly gripping them in order to hold me in place on his back.

"I'm not afraid!" I sigh and look down towards the ground. "I just didn't want to fall all that way..." Inuyasha scoffs at me as if that's a stupid thing.

"Like I said, I got you! Now can we go?" I tighten my grip again and nod my head. "Good!"

As the air rushes over us again, I bury my face against Inuyasha's back. Soon, he's lightly gliding from tree to tree. It's almost as if everything is weightless as he jumps up from one tree branch and even when he comes down upon the next. I know he's a half-demon but I had no idea that he can just about fly. I guess his human appearance has been throwing my judgment off. Maybe I just take the whole "demon" aspect for granted, too. While I keep thinking about all of this, Inuyasha has made quick work of getting out of the park. I could already see Higurashi Shrine from the last treetop.

"Alright Kagome, you made a promise and we're almost to Higurashi Shrine." Inuyasha lands on the sidewalk lightly, but he doesn't let go of me. "I'll carry you the rest of the way, but start talking!" I sigh and stare at the back of his head.

"Fine..." I try to clear my head and remember what Koga had said. Inuyasha starts to walk slowly. "Well, I guess I should start by saying that the date Koga and I went on was terrible. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. By the time we got to the park, he was pretty pissed off... I guess things just started to weigh heavy on his mind. It ends up that he feels he can no longer trust me because..." I pause, not sure if I should finish that sentence.

"Because?" Inuyasha scoffs again. "Care to explain the rest of that?"

"He said he can't trust me because of... you. He feels like I changed the day you came into our lives. He doesn't trust you anyway, so he feels that now he can't trust me."

"That's stupid!" He huffs out a heavy breathe that sounds frustrated. "I knew that wolf cub had to be dumber than he looked. Oh well... His loss, right?" Was Inuyasha being serious just now? He sounded serious... but why would he say that?

"I... I guess so?" I'm not sure what to say, he really surprised me. It's like he's trying to cheer me up. I guess under his tough exterior he has a really kind heart. I lay my head against his back as I think.

Inuyasha walks a little faster now, and before I'm expecting it, he leaps into the air. When he lands, we're in front of my house. I look around, wondering how late it is. There aren't any lights on in the house so, I'm assuming everyone went to bed already. For some reason, Inuyasha still hasn't let go of me. I start to think he's going to walk me over to the door, but instead he leaps into the air. He lands in the tree across from my bedroom window.

"Inuyasha?" I whisper into his ear. He turns his face slightly to look at me in response. "Do you plan to break into my house just to get me home?"

"No!" He whispers back in a confused tone. His face makes him look half confused and half embarrassed. "I don't have to break in, your window is open, isn't it?"

"Hmm..." Come to think of it, I don't think I ever lock that window. "I guess so."

Inuyasha jumps over to the ledge and lightly pushes the window open with ease. As soon as he walks in, he lets go of my legs and I slide off his back. I land on my butt with a soft thud and look up at him. He turns around to look at me and his eyes widen.

"Sorry Kagome!" He whispers to me. "I didn't think you would just fall off like that." He offers me a hand to help me up for the second time tonight.

"It's okay, Inuyasha." I take his hand and stand up. "I had a pretty soft landing really." I smile up at him.

When I look up at him, though, I notice his face in the moonlight. His silver hair is glowing brightly in the light and it frames his face. Then his eyes look so soft, yet so sad. His mouth is almost a straight line, not betraying any emotion. As his ears twitch a few times, I wonder if maybe he's worried about something or it's that he's sad right now.

*** * * Inuyasha's POV * * ***

Kagome's face is almost completely hidden in shadow but I can still see the small frown as well as her eyes full of worry. It looks as if she may start crying. I cant stand tears so I step closer to her. In an attempt to stop the crying before it starts, I wrap my arms around her gently. She doesn't resist at all, instead she rests her head against my shoulder.

"Inuyasha?" She whispers softly without moving. "Will you stay a while? Please?"

"What for?" I'm not sure how to respond. Why would she want me to _stay? _I look down at her, but her face is against my shoulder so I can't see if she's being serious.

"I just wanted to talk for a while, Inuyasha." She finally looks up at me. There' a small smile on her face, but she still looks sad. "Are you afraid that I might bite?"

As she laughs softly, I shake my head in response. I take my arms from around her and she steps back from me. She turns to the window and looks out of it for a long moment before she closes it. Then she walks over to the bed and sits down next to it. Kagome waves me over and I hesitate before I sit next to her. I try not to sit too close, in an attempt to make sure things aren't awkward. She moves closer to me and leans her head against my shoulder.

"Inuyasha, why do you hate being at home?" She asks in a quiet tone. "You said something about an older brother?"

"You remember that, huh?" I let out a low chuckle. "Eh, he's a full-blooded demon who can be a real jerk. He claims he hates me because my blood is tainted or something like that."

"What about the rest of your family?" Kagome looks up at me curiously.

"Ha, Sesshomaru is all I have left. My father died before I ever knew him." I don't want to look her in the face so I look away. "My mother died when I was young, and because there was no more family, I got stuck with my terrible half-brother."

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha." Kagome sighs softly and leans her head against my shoulder again. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." effect

"I-It's okay, Kagome." I didn't think she could tell how that question affected me, but I was wrong. Maybe a change in subject will help. "So... What about Koga? How did you two end up together?"

"Mm..." She sounds hesitant at first but then continues slowly. "Well, when we first met in middle school... He was kind of a jerk, I guess." I shoot her a questioning glare and she continues. "We had been assigned a project and we were to be partners, but he just got bossy and didn't want to do anything..." Kagome lets out a small yawn and I wrap my arm around her instinctively.

"Doesn't sound like an impressive start!" I scoff thinking about it.

"It wasn't. But I stood up to him one day, and slapped him across the face for how he was acting." Again, she lets out a yawn. "The next day he told me he was in love with me in front of the whole class and asked me to be his. I couldn't exactly say no to that..." The last of her sentence gets quieter and quieter until she trails off.

Looking down at her, I see that she has fallen asleep. I shift my body gently so that I can wrap my arms around her tightly. There's no point in waking her up now, so I let her sleep wrapped in my arms. My eyes grow heavy as well and I soon fall asleep.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed the 5th chapter, and look forward to the 6th in the next week. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's! <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I know this is really late, but I wanted this to be perfect. That and... I got sick in the middle of writing this. Anyways, here it is, chapter 6, and I hope all of you loyal reads out there, and even any new readers I get, enjoy this chapter! Read on!**

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

*** * * Kagome's POV * * ***

The morning sun beams down on me as a light breeze drifts over my face. I roll over because I don't want to get up yet but I just realize something. I sit up quickly and look around, expecting to see someone in the room. As I look around, I notice that my window is open and assume that the cool breeze I keep feeling is coming from there. Other than the open window, nothing seems out of place, and the person I am expecting to be there is gone. Questions start to swirl around in my head in a dizzying way.

"Was last night a dream? Did I not stumbled into Inuyasha in the park's woods? No, it had to be real! I know Inuyasha was the one who brought me home... and we fell asleep talking... I couldn't have just imagined falling asleep in his arms! Where is he though? Why would he just leave and not say anything after last night?"

After I debate about it in my head for a while, I give up. I must have just had a weird reaction to the food last night and it all caused me to have a weird dream. Does that mean that Koga _didn't_ break up with me after all? I grab my cell phone off my desk and hit the speed dial. The phone starts to ring a few times before Koga picks it up.

"Kagome?" Koga's gruff voice comes through the phone. He still sounds tired. "Kagome is that you?"

"Koga!" I practically scream into the phone out of excitement. Why am I so glad to hear his voice? "Koga, what happened last night? I _need_ to know!"

"Kagome... you... don't remember?" He still sounds sleepy but I can tell there is confusion in his voice now. "Kagome we got into an argument last night... I broke up with you..."

"That... wasn't a dream, then?" I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I don't feel like I can hold them back at all. "I'm sorry, Koga. I didn't mean to bother you!" As I hang up the phone, the tears begin to spill from my eyes.

I fall onto my bed and cover my face with my pillow. I sob to the point that I almost can't breathe anymore. But I stop and hold my breathe when I hear a knock on the door downstairs. Mom answers the door and I can hear Sango's voice. I try to let out a sigh of relief but it only comes out as more sobbing. At least it's only Sango and not Koga or Inuyasha. I don't mind Sango seeing me like this, especially when she has to find out one way or another about what happened. Next thing I know, I hear footsteps on the stairs.

Sango opens my door as she calls to me. When she walks in, she looks at me and quickly closes the door. She sits next to me on the bed and I sit up next to her. Wrapping her arms around me, Sango tries to calm me down. For a long while she doesn't say anything to me, just holds me and comforts me. I'm so thankful that I have a best friend like Sango who doesn't need words at a time like this, but she deserves answers.

"Kagome, are you okay? When Miroku and I couldn't find you last night, we got worried." As I catch my breath and look up at her, I can see the worry in her eyes. "We looked as long as we could and didn't see you or Koga at all. What happened?"

"Sango... he doesn't trust me anymore..." I look down at the pillow in my lap. My eyes are dry and I know I can't cry anymore. "He broke up with me while we were at the park. I guess I ended up wandering home alone after that."

"What? Koga doesn't trust you?" Sango sounds like she is starting to get mad. I can tell she is not happy with Koga, but she does seem to be confused about the situation. "What reason does he have to _not_ trust _you?"_

"Inuyasha..." I can feel her wide-eyed stare. Things just got more confusing, I'm sure. "I just remember him saying that he can no longer trust me because of Inuyasha. He just kind of walked away after he ended things with me. I... I don't even remember coming home last night..."

"Kagome... I'm so sorry." She stares at me for a long second, then hugs me close. "I wish I had known this last night so I could have been there for you."

"It's okay, Sango. You were with Miroku and I wouldn't have wanted to bother you two. I know the entire date was such a disaster, you two deserved a little peace and quiet together." I let out a small laugh as I think about it all. "The weirdest part of last night is the dream that I had."

"Dream?" Sango leans back as she looks at me in wonder. "What was it about?"

"Well..." I blush just a little as I think about the dream. "It started out after Koga left. I had started to run through the park and ended up pretty lost in the thickly wooded area. As I realized that I was lost though, I tripped." I sigh softly. "The next thing I knew, I was looking up at... Inuyasha. He brought me home and I ended up telling him everything that happened. He actually comforted me the whole night and I fell asleep in his arms. I woke up after that."

"Kagome, did you really dream about Inuyasha after Koga broke up with you because of _him_?" Sango's words cause my head to suddenly spin and I draw in a sharp breathe. I shake my head as I realize why she says this.

"No! I would never try to hurt Koga like that! Nothing ever happened between Inuyasha and I!" I look at her with wide eyes and I feel as if I can't breath again. "Sango, I didn't want to tell you this unless I was sure, but I don't think that was a dream. Inuyasha wasn't here when I woke up, but I know he was here when I fell asleep. It just all felt like a dream in a way."

"Kagome, I wasn't trying to imply that you would hurt Koga on purpose. I just wasn't sure why you would dream about Inuyasha if what Koga had said about trusting you wasn't true." She sighs as she looks away from me but looks back at me with a small smile. "Do you really think it wasn't all a dream?"

"Well, I know the part with Koga was all real... and if it _was_ just a dream, then I have no memory of anything that happened after he broke up with me. I'm pretty sure I would remember everything that happened, right?" I look at Sango with a worried face. She smiles to reassure me.

"I'm sure you remember things the way they happened, and it _is_ starting to sound like maybe it wasn't just a dream..." She looks down at the bed beneath us for a second as she pauses. "I'm sure it will all work out though, Kagome. Surely you can talk to Inuyasha about it?" She looks up at me with a curious look.

"I guess I can try to ask him about it Monday at school." I sigh heavily and look down at the bed. The bed moves as Sango gets up and stands in front of me, her hands on her hips.

"You know what you need, Kagome?" I look up at her curiously, not sure what she has in mind or what she could be up to. "You need," she grabs my hands and pulls me to my feet, "a girl's day out!"

"Sango what are you talking about?!" My eyes widen as I look at her. I have no idea what she means or why she would bring it up now.

"A day for just the two of us to go out, Kagome!" She smiles at me as she starts to explain. "We can go shopping, get lunch, maybe some ice cream, and then we could go to a movie tonight! Or we could even go to that sushi restaurant that has karaoke night!" She puts on a serious face for a second, but she smiles a little, her face softening with it. "I think it could really help you forget about what's been going on. Maybe you would feel better after some girl time?"

After a few moments of thinking it over to myself, I nod in agreement. Sango beams as she pulls me over to my closet. For the next few minutes, she picks through everything in my closet. Finally she pulls out a light blue sundress and hands it to me. She then promptly shoves me towards the bathroom and orders me to get washed up as well as dressed.

I stand in the bathroom a bit shocked. It feels as if things were moving way too fast and I needed to let everything soak in. As I take a deep breathe, I put the dress on the sink and look in the mirror. This is the first I have looked at myself since last night. It becomes a little more obvious to me that what happened with Inuyasha couldn't be a dream. There are a few small twigs hiding in my hair that I can only think came from riding on Inuyasha's back through the trees. There's also a little dirt on my face, probably from when I fell, and I look down at my legs. Sure enough, there's some dirt smudged across my knees as well. I didn't dream any of it up at all...

I sigh heavily and turn to the shower. As the water is warming up, I peel off the clothes I had worn out last night. Leaving the dirty clothes on the floor, I step into the shower slowly. The hot water immediately begins to relax me and my breathing becomes almost rhythmic. I'm starting to think that a day out with Sango might actually be what I need. I need to get my mind off of everything so that I can stop stressing over emotions!

After making up my mind in the shower, I finish getting ready pretty quickly. Before I could get out of the bathroom door good enough, Sango has my hand is dragging me down the stairs. She pulls me into the kitchen and my head spins just a bit as we stop. Then I notice that my mom is sitting at the table, sipping on tea. She looks up and smiles at me.

"Sango told me that you two had plans for a girl's day out." Her hand moves across the table, pushing something towards me. "I want you two to have fun today, so take this, Kagome. Just a little extra spending cash to ensure that you have a nice day!"

"Oh, thank you, mom!" I pick up the money and look at it for a moment before I look back at her. "You don't have to do this, mom. I can't take all of this!" She shakes her head as I try to hand her back some of the money. "Keep it, Kagome!" With that she smiles as she just about _pushes_ Sango and I out of the house.

Having been literally pushed out of the house, Sango and I look to each other with wide eyes for a long moment. We both shrug and start on our way to the mall. Along the way we talk about getting lunch first. I haven't eaten at all yet, so it sounds like a great plan to me. We decide to stop at a fast food place for something quick and easy. After deciding on lunch, we begin to plan out what stores to go to. Sango makes mention of going to the sushi restaurant that we like so much, once again.

"Sango..." I say in a small voice. She looks at me to see what's the matter. "I don't have anything to wear to that place!" Sango lets out a laugh which makes me look at her curiously.

"Kagome, why do you think we're going shopping?" She pats my shoulder as her words hit me. I should have realized she had this planned. "We are going to get you a new outfit and make you look incredible tonight! Then you and I are going to sing karaoke until we pass out!" She giggles softly as she smiles at me.

"You had this planned from the moment that you heard what happened, didn't you?" She nods in reply and her smile becomes mischievous as well as bigger. I sigh and look at the sidewalk ahead. "Oh hey, we're close to a couple of the fast food restaurants. Let's hurry and grab some lunch!" I grab Sango's hand and pull her into one of the restaurants as my stomach rumbles.

"Sango, how many more things are you going to make me try on?" I sigh as I step out of a dressing room. Sango has already dragged me through 2 stores and made me try on at least 25 different outfits. So far, nothing seems to be pleasing her.

"As many as it takes to find your perfect look for tonight!" She spins me around and looks at the current outfit that I have on. "This one looks okay, but it just isn't right..." She sighs and waves me back into the dressing room. "Go change back into your clothes and we'll go to the next store.

I walk back in the dressing room slowly. All of this is starting to make me tired. At this rate, we may never find an outfit that meets Sango's expectations. Still, I should be happy that Sango is trying to help me through things. I keep that in mind as I take the little red dress off and replace it with my own blue dress. I put a smile on as I walk out of the dressing room and look to Sango.

"Okay, Sango. I think I'm ready to head to the next store!" I walk over to where she's standing but she doesn't look at me right away. "Sango? Something wrong?" She looks up at me and shakes her head.

"No, nothing's wrong, Kagome. I was just thinking about the perfect look, that's all." She grabs my hand and pulls me out of the store and towards our next destination. "We have to hurry and find something. That restaurant is going to be packed full of people soon enough."

We practically run through the mall, passing store after store. Nothing catches Sango's eye at all, or even mine. I still don't know what she's looking for in particular, though, so I'm going to keep quiet either way. Without notice, Sango stops outside a store, causing me to stumble into her. Sango is standing so firm that she doesn't stagger at all, though. After regaining my footing, I look up to the store that she has her eyes set on. The front of the store was decorated with roses that surrounded the window displays on each side of the entrance. On display were a few outfits for men in one display and what appeared to be outfits for women in the other. The clothes looked like they were for parties, both casual and formal. Sango scans the store front and starts to pull me inside.

"This is the perfect place to find you a dress for tonight!" She tells me. As we enter, the clerk greets us and asks if she can help us. Sango looks at her and smiles widely. "Actually, you can! My friend wants to try on a particular outfit that we saw in your window display,the red robes. If you don't mind helping us find that in her size?"

The clerk then leads us to a rack near the far side of the window display. She looks me over for a minute and then grabs one of the robes of red. It looks a little big but, at the same time I'm not even sure that the garment is for women. It looks like a short robe for men with long sleeves that are extremely baggy. Suddenly I realize that I've seen this robe before, or at least something like it...

After the clerk hands it to me, Sango pushes me towards the dressing rooms. I sigh and step into a dressing room, hanging the garment on the hook next to the door. After I close the door, I strip off my dress and lay it on the seat. I carefully slip the robe on one arm at a time and then wrap the rest around me and tie it off. As my arms fall to my side for the first time, the sleeves fall along with them. The sleeves seem to fall a bit more than the length of my arms and I look in the mirror. There are slits in the upper part of the sleeves, exposing my shoulders, and causing the sleeves to fall slightly more than they should. I walk out of the dressing room and Sango immediately looks up from her phone.

"Kagome, that looks so great on you!" She walks over to me and then around me. "The only thing is... you need to fix the sleeves."

"You can say that again! These sleeves are huge." I throw my arms up and the sleeves fall back against my head. "How is someone supposed to do anything with sleeves this big always getting in the way?" Sango giggles at me and I give her a confused look.

"You have the sleeves on wrong, Kagome." She grabs the sleeves and pulls my arms through the slits. "See you use those slits as the real armholes, and then you take the rest of the sleeves and tie them around your waste." Just as she finishes tying the sleeves around my waste, the clerk walks over to us.

"That looks marvelous on you! Will you be buying that outfit today?" The clerk asks as I look at Sango. Sango nods her head at me and shoves a pair of shoes at me. "Oh, the shoes as well?" I look back to the clerk with the shoes in my hands and nod to her. "Alright, if you would like to, you can wear it out. Just meet me at the cash-register and I'll ring this up for you!"

After I say my thanks, the clerk leaves. Sango grabs my dress out of the dressing room while I put on the shoes she shoved at me. When I stand up and look in the mirror, I think about how Sango has spent all day finding _this_ dress. I'm glad she didn't let me get just any dress, now that I think about it, but does she even have anything to wear tonight? As she approaches me, I look up at her.

"Sango?" She looks at me as I call her name. "You never did find anything to wear tonight, did you?"

"Actually, I saw one while you were in the dressing room that I wanted to try on." She walks over to a rack where she picks up a black dress. The dress has pink stripes that look more like they were slashed onto the dress haphazardly. "Wait here, I'm going to try this on with the same kind of shoes I handed you."

She grabs a pair of shoes that were sitting next to her stuff and then walks into a dressing room. A few moments later, she walks out wearing the dress. She looks in the mirror and turns around to check every angle. When she looks at me, I give her two thumbs-up with a big smile. The little black dress looks perfect on her, and the pink slashes really compliment her pink eye-shadow. Sango turns back to the mirror and pulls her hair back into a high ponytail. It's honestly amazing that Sango found something so perfect in so little time.

We both grab our stuff and head to the cash-register. The clerk rings up our purchases separately and then gives us both a bag to put our other stuff in. Sango checks her phone as we walk out of the store. The afternoon was already fading away and become the evening. Luckily the sushi restaurant is just a few blocks from the mall and should be a fairly quick walk. If we want to get in though, we have to hurry so we speed walk out of the mall. Sango guides me through the crowded streets and soon enough we can see the sign flashing: "Karaoke". When we pause at a crosswalk, I feel a familiar presence and look around to see who it is. Oddly enough, I don't see anyone that I know besides Sango, but I swear I might have just seen a red robe... maybe even the one that I thought of earlier at the store. Once we cross the street, I look around again only to find nothing like what I think I saw. Sango calls out to me to hurry up so I decide to forget everything and hurry to her side.

Once we reach the restaurant, we find that it's not overly busy yet. The crowd around it seems to be growing pretty fast, though. We quickly grab a spot in the line outside and notice that the line doesn't go very far beyond the other side of the door. Luckily the line is already moving at a good pace, and we make it inside in no time at all.

A waiter walks up to our table and places a plate in front of Sango and another plate in front of me. Sango and I both smile and bow our heads at the waiter in thanks. As he walks away, we grab our chopsticks and look over our plates. Sango picks up a piece of her sushi and her eyes light up.

"This looks so tasty!" I say as I pick up a piece.

"It tastes better than it looks!" Sango says after having already taking a bite. I take a bite out of mine and nod in agreement.

"Remind me why we never come here anymore?" I ask Sango as she selects another piece of sushi from her plate.

"Hmm..." She looks thoughtful as she holds her sushi in front of her face. She takes another bite and then replies. "I don't remember, but it seems like it had something to do with Miroku and Koga."

"Mmm..." I think about that as I bite into another piece of sushi. "Oh yeah! I remember that night now!" I take a sip of my drink and Sango looks at me expectantly. "I remember that we came here when I first started to date Koga and you and Miroku came along to make it a double date. It started out pretty normal, but when it came to the karaoke... I seem to remember Koga and Miroku nearly killed everyone in the restaurant with their horrid singing." I sigh looking at Sango.

"Oh, right! Then the owner kicked them out and told them to never come back here." Sango and I both giggle. "It was a good thing they didn't kick us out, too. Otherwise we would never have been able to come back for this amazing sushi!"

"Agreed!" I smile as I pop another sushi roll into my mouth. "Say, do you remember what song that the guys tried to sing that night?"

"I think I do." Sango touches her chopsticks to her mouth for a second as she thinks back. "I believe it was called _Every Heart. _That song by BoA, do you remember it?"

"I love that song!" I take another sip on my drink and then grab my last sushi roll. "I remember the guys ruined it, too." I finish up my sushi and wash it down with some more of my drink. "Oh Sango! I had a great idea just now. We should sing that song and see how much better we can do!"

As Sango sets down her drink, she looks at me and I see sparks of determination in her eyes. My eyes grow wide as she nods and grabs my hand. The guy in charge of the karaoke night begins to ask for anyone who would like to sing a song. Sango drags me over and tells the guy that we want to sing a duet. He hands us a book that lists all of the songs available for karaoke. Sango quickly flips through the book and finds _Every Heart_ with ease. She shows the song and its number to the guy who smiles in amazement as he looks us over. He nods his head as he hands us both a mic. Sango and I climb up on the stage as the song is announced. Most of the people in the room turn their attention away from their dinners and I feel their gaze set on us. Silence falls shortly before the music starts and a few screens around the room glow to life. Sango nudges me in the side as words begin to scroll across the screens. She starts out the song beautifully.

Meanwhile I close my eyes and breath in deeply, waiting for my part to come in. As Sango finishes a line of lyrics I join in, harmonizing with her as we sing the the first chorus together. We continue to switch off after each chorus. All while I sing, my mind wanders to yesterday's events. This song seems to be doing something deep in my heart. The more of the song I sing, the more emotion seems to spill out with it, which is somehow making me feel better about everything. By the time we finish the song, a few people in the restaurant, including the guy working with the karaoke equipment, have tears in their eyes. The whole restaurant explodes in a roar of applause. People begin to to ask for an encore and Sango looks at me. We had obviously done a much better job than Miroku and Koga in singing that song, so why not go on? I nod at Sango who returns the gesture and we pick another song to sing together.

Sango and I ended up spending several hours singing karaoke at the restaurant. It's pretty late now, and we're just now getting close to my house. Sango had apparently called her dad before, while I was in the shower. She makes it clear to me that she's spending the night with me just as she has all day. The home has been pretty quiet so far, but I get the strangest feeling that someone has been following us. Other than a few random people walking on the other side of the street and people that we have passed by, there hasn't been anyone around. Maybe it's all in my imagination, though. Surely Sango would have already said something by now if she thought someone was following us.

I can already see the stairway to the Higurashi Shrine. As Sango and I walk past a few trees, I hear the leaves rustle and turn around to see one of the branches rocking. I get this weird sense of déjà vu as I watch the branch. I have a weird feeling that someone is following us, almost exactly like Inuyasha had followed me after school last week. I shake off the weird feelings that I have when Sango gives me a funny look, though. While we approach my house, I still can't help but to wonder what's going.

We trudge up the stairs with our bags in our hands. We both are pretty tired from all of the day's events. When we reach my room, I find something for Sango to sleep in and she goes to change in the bathroom. While she is changing, I pull out my own pajamas and sit at the window to wait. It's such a beautiful night, I open my window to let the cool breeze blow in. Just as I start to yawn, Sango walks back in the room, her phone in hand. I could tell she was about to call Miroku, so I head to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Sango deserved a few minutes alone to talk to Miroku since she has been with me all day. I don't think she's even sent him a text message at all today.

While in the bathroom, I splash my face with a little soap and water. I take my time brushing my teeth, in order to give Sango some time on the phone. After brushing my teeth, I slip on my pajamas and run a brush through my hair to ensure it isn't tangled before bed. I sit the brush back in its place and turn off the light. On the way back to my room, I notice that Sango is really quiet for being on the phone with Miroku. Upon walking into my room, I see why. She's sprawled out across the bed, already asleep, with her phone still in her hand. She must have fallen asleep while she was on the phone with Miroku. I giggle softly as I throw a blanket over her and deciding to sleep on the floor.

I walk over to the window to close it, but when I do, I see a flash of red disappear out of the tree. I keep seeing that red everywhere I go... what is it? Kneeling down next to the window, I fold my arms on the windowsill and rest my head there. The moon is bright and still appears full, though the full moon was last night. I stare up at the moon for a long while before drifting off to sleep. The last thing I see is another flash of red against the white moon.

Birds chirp outside in the trees and I can smell food being cooked in the kitchen. I open my eyes a little and look around my room. As I stretch out my arms and let out a yawn, I see that Sango is just starting to stir. I stand up and stretch my legs after having slept all night kneeling by the window. Little cracking noises make their way to Sango's ears and she sits up, her eyes half open. She looks over at me and her eyes pop wide open.

"Kagome!" She gasps sharply. "I'm so sorry, I took over the whole bed last night!"

"It's okay, Sango." I wave off her concern and giggle. "I actually slept pretty well sitting at the window. It was a pretty nice ending to the day we had yesterday!" I smile and Sango understands that I mean what I say. "I can smell breakfast already, so it must be almost done. Let's go eat!" She nods and follows me downstairs.

Mom is setting the last plate on the table when we walk in. She bids us a good morning and tells us to eat our fill. Sango and I both bow our heads and thank her. We dig in, and barely speak a word as we eat, except to compliment mom on how great it all tastes. Sota and grandpa come down not too long after we start to eat. They quickly grab what they can, fearing that Sango and I might eat it all before they get a chance. Soon Sango and I excuse ourselves from the table and head back to my room.

Once in my room, Sango pulls me over to my closet and throws it open. She finds a box and sits it on the floor between us. I look at her confused, blinking my eyes several times while I try to figure out what she's doing. She took me out yesterday for a girl's day and got my mind off of everything. So what is it she's trying to do now?

"Kagome, it's time that we go through your stuff." She hits the palm of one of her hands with a fist lightly. "Tomorrow you will give Koga all of his crap back. That way you don't have to keep it around just to be burdened with memories of him. Okay?"

Well, it makes sense. I nod in agreement and put on a determined face. Sango's help has really helped me so far, and I'm sure this will as well. I start to rummage through my closet, tossing everything that Koga had ever given to me back at Sango. She carefully catches everything and places it in the box. When I turn around, I notice that there's a few things missing so I walk over to my dresser. I pick up the ring and the necklace that Koga had given me and drop them into the box. Then I pick up the picture of us together on my bed-side table and drop it in. The glass makes a cracking sound and I look away, making sure that I found everything. As I look around my room one for anything that I may have forgotten, I see something important. How I could have forgotten the origami flower, I have no idea. I pick it up off my desk gently and my mind wonders into the memory it brings. Koga had made this for me shortly after we started to date. Placing it on top of the pile in the box brings a small sigh from my lips.

Tomorrow is the day that I move on from Koga completely. It might be hard, but Sango is helping through it all. I know with friends like her and Miroku, I'll be over this soon. After the weekend with Sango, I already feel like a great weight was lifted off my chest. All I need now is to wait for tomorrow so that I can get the rest of the weight off of my chest. Then maybe I can figure out what happened with Inuyasha that night...

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><p><strong>So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, because it took me a while to get it just right for you guys! I am currently at work on the next chapter, so I hope to have it out to you guys as soon as possible. If it seems to take a while though, just know that I want it to be as perfect as possible for you guys because I love you all! Until next time~ :D<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**So for all of you who might have been wondering, the song I referenced in the last chapter was in fact one of the end credit songs for Inuyasha. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's a little short but I do hope you enjoy the surprise within it.**

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

It's Monday morning, the day that I leave Koga behind according to Sango. I sling my bag over my shoulder and grab the box of Koga's stuff from off my desk. As I head down the stairs, I call out to mom to let her know I'm leaving and say goodbye. When I walk out the door, I'm so surprised to run into Miroku and Sango that I nearly drop the box. Sango grabs the other side of the box to ensure that it doesn't tumble out of my hands.

"Oh, good morning, Sango! Miroku!" I wasn't expecting to see them so soon this morning. I smile at both of them in turn and receive a smile back from both.

"Good morning, Kagome!" They actually say it simultaneously which makes me let out a small laugh. They look at each other in surprise for a second and then start to laugh at themselves.

We start to walk away from the house and down the large set of stairs out of the shrine. Miroku trails behind Sango and I as he usually does on the walk to school. He seems a little nervous this morning though, which is really unusual for him. Maybe he just isn't sure how to approach the subject of what's going on with Koga and I... or maybe he knows something we don't? Most of our walk is silent, and it feels awkward, maybe because of Koga's absence. When we get close to the school building, I let out a sigh.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Sango suddenly look at me, worry etched into her features. "Is that stuff getting too heavy for you?"

"No, I'm fine." I look up at her and take a deep breath. "I'm just preparing myself mentally, I guess. I'm fine, though, really!"

"If you're sure." Sango's face softens and she gives me a small smile. She and Miroku follow me into the school and down the halls to our class. Before we walk in, she puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes it in reassurance. "You can do this, Kagome."

As I walk into the classroom, I can feel a few eyes follow me across the room. When I approach his desk, Koga looks up at me in surprise. I was hoping he would be here before me, just so that I didn't have to sit awkwardly with this box until he showed up. Lucky for me, he's here but he looks pretty confused. I sit the box down on his desk and look at him, hoping that my face isn't showing any emotions right now.

"Kagome, what is this?" Koga blushes a little, I guess in embarrassment, as he looks over the box. "And why did you set it on my desk?" I give him a cross face just as I see someone walk into the classroom out of the corner of my eye.

"Don't you recognize your own stuff, Koga?" I start to question him and someone approaches us. I can hear Sango and Miroku protest, but it's too late. Inuyasha walks right up to us and looks between Koga, the box, and me.

"What the Hell is going on over here?" Inuyasha eyes the box some more. "Are you two having couple issues, scrawny wolf boy?" He smirks and looks over at Koga.

"Actually Inuyasha, I was just giving Koga his stuff back." I answer before Koga even has a chance to start anything. They both look at me, looking a little stunned that I had said anything. "Koga and I broke up Friday night, so I thought it was only right that I give him all his stuff back."

"Kagome..." Koga can barely say my name suddenly. "I didn't mean for this to happen. You didn't need to give me all this stuff. Most of it was a gift! You should be keeping that stuff..."

"I'm sorry Koga, but I can't keep any of it. It was mostly symbols of how we felt for each other, and I can't keep it because of that. I would only be hurting myself more than you hurt me if I did." One of Inuyasha's ear twitches as I speak, which catches me off guard for a second. Something about him is off this morning.

"Kagome, can we at least talk this over? Please?" Koga catches my hand roughly. His eyes give a hint of tears as his cheeks show a little blush still.

"What's the matter, wolf-pup?" Inuyasha scoffs at Koga as he walks by him and sits down at his desk. "Scared she's already moved on, or maybe that she's fallen in love with someone else?"

"Stay out of this, mutt!" Koga speaks between gritted teeth, almost like he's trying to keep himself from starting a fight. I this an attempt to win me over? "Kagome, please think. I know I hurt you, but this box has made me realize just how wrong I was! Please, take me back?"

"Koga... you didn't trust me when you had no reason to doubt me." I sigh as I take my hand out of his and look away. "I can't just forget how you let all of this go, and I don't think I can trust you enough to try again." With that, I walk to my desk and sit down. I don't want to look at anyone even though the whole room is staring at me, so I just start to take my books out of my bag for class.

Sango and Miroku quietly sit in their seats next to me. I can feel Inuyasha's gaze on me as I go about my business. I'm not sure why he's staring at me that way, but it makes me remember Friday night. Hopefully at lunch I get the chance to talk to him. With that thought, Mrs. Kaede walks into the room and class begins.

Finally lunch period is here! Inuyasha disappears out of the room almost instantly. Sango and Miroku are already moving their desks and look at me expectantly. I look down and nervously rub my arm with my hand as I tell them that I'm not staying in the room for lunch. Koga's head perks up suddenly when I say that. He hasn't been acting himself all day, instead he acts somewhat depressed. I guess it's his punishment for not trusting me more, but I can't help feeling kind of bad for him. As I walk out of the classroom, I grab my lunch and wave to Sango who surely knows where I'm headed.

I'm not sure where I'm headed, but my feet seem to know exactly where to go anyway. Before I really realize it, I'm walking up the stairs to the roof. Once I open the door I see Inuyasha leaning against the railing and his ear twitches. He doesn't look at me when I stand next to him, but I know that he knows I'm here.

"I thought I might find you out here." I look at his face and notice how calm he actually looks. Now I start to hope that I didn't disturb him or something, only he looks over at me. He's actually smiling at me, so I smile back at him as I hold out my lunch. "Would you like part of my lunch?"

"Uh..." I apparently caught Inuyasha off guard, because he starts to blush a little and he gives me a funny face. He stares at me for a long second then crosses his arms before answering. "You don't really have to do that, Kagome."

"I know." I smile cheerfully at him. "I just want to." I hesitate before I say anymore, still unsure if I should. "It's kind of my way to thank you, I guess."

"Thank me? What for?" He looks away from me as he scoffs. Is he starting to act defensive?

"For being a good friend to me and being there when I needed someone." He looks at me confused. "Friday night, remember?"

"What are you talking about?" Again, he scoffs and looks away, his arms still crossed.

"I'm talking about how you took me home and listened to me after Koga broke up with me!" Was it really a dream though?

"Doesn't sound like me." He tilts his head slightly as he looks at me with a curious face. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming it all?"

"I swear I wasn't dreaming..."I look down, feeling as if hope just vanished altogether. "Am I just crazy?" I turn away from Inuyasha as soon as I get the feeling that I may start crying. There isn't much to be said or done at this point. If I was just dreaming, then what really happened that night?

"Kagome." I feel Inuyasha's hand on my shoulder and look up at him. "You aren't crazy! I was there. You seemed like you really needed some help, so I gave it to you. Now stop your moping, would ya?" I stare at him in shock for a few silent moments.

"Why would you lie about that, Inuyasha?" I turn to fully face him as I glare at him. "I mean, I came up here to thank you, and you lie straight to my face?"

"I didn't want you to get the wrong idea!" He folds his arms and returns the glare.

"I wouldn't get the wrong idea if you just told me the truth." I cross my arms over my chest, holding my lunch tightly between my arms and chest. "I thought you were just trying to be a good friend, Inuyasha! I thought we were actually starting to be close friends..." Inuyasha's eyes grow a bit wide in surprise and he looks a bit confused again.

"Really? You thought we were just being close friends?" He hesitates to ask as his face twists a bit. I'm not sure what kind of expression that is, but I nod in response to the question. "At least you didn't think I was like a lecher or something." He sighs as he looks out at the sky. "Friends, I think I can handle that. Just don't go getting all mushy with me, alright?"

"I can promise you that!" I giggle as I open my lunch up and hand Inuyasha one of the rice balls. "We better hurry, because class is going to let in soon. Go ahead and eat some of this!"

After Inuyasha takes the rice ball, we both eat in a somewhat comfortable silence. Since we don't have much time left after eating, we just about run down the stairs and into the hallway. Sango and Miroku bump into us just as we enter the hall, literally. They are already headed to PE now so instead of going back to the classroom, we join the two. Sango and I walk together to get changed, and the whole time she questions me about what is going on. Even though I tell her the truth about what happened, she doesn't believe me, but she _does_ trust me.

Over the next few weeks, Inuyasha and I begin to hang out more. At first it starts out as just studying together, but he starts to come on the weekends too. Occasionally we take walks in the park or go get ice cream. A lot of the time we just sit next to the sacred tree at the shrine and just talk, though. As each week passes, I can feel a bond growing between Inuyasha and I. Sango and Miroku even make comments about how close we seem to be getting. Sango even has me questioning my feelings for Inuyasha. He's a really good friend and a pretty good guy as far as I've seen. He can have an attitude and sometimes he has a bad temper, but it isn't like that's all there is to him.

Over the course of the weeks that pass by, I see the rough edges that Inuyasha has just as much as the soft center, but there are still mysteries about him that have yet to unfold. Such as the fact that he doesn't like to hang around too late on the night of the new moon. I'm not sure if it's a dog demon thing or not, but he acts really defensive around that night. He even refuses to stay for dinner on those nights, and that isn't like him because he loves my mom's cooking. Today, though, I'm determined to find out what's going on with him. We've been walking around the park for the better part of the afternoon, and as we are walking home, the sun is also setting. I'm hoping that he's forgotten that tonight is the new moon, but if not, my mom is making something he can't seem to resist: steak!

When we walk in the door, Inuyasha doesn't even notice that the sun is starting to creep down below the horizon. We can hear my mom in the kitchen, but as soon as we walk into the dining room, she's there to greet us cheerfully. Over the past few months, my mom has grown pretty fond of Inuyasha. She even knows about his family situation, so she enjoys having him over for dinner as often as she can. It's kind of normal for her to be this way with my friends, and not all that different than how she is with Sango and Miroku, or even Koga for that matter. In fact, ever since Sango's mom passed away, my mom has worried about her quite often. Even now that Sango's family is doing pretty well, she worries, probably because Sango is like family to us.

"Inuyasha! It's so nice to see you again." My mom smiles at the both of us. Then she holds up a package of meat that she has been holding. "We're having steak tonight, so would you like to join us for dinner?"

Inuyasha's ears perk up and he smells the air, looking pretty much pleased. It seems as though my mom and the smells from the kitchen have his attention, so I don't expect and refusal. He _does _look back at me as if to ask if it's okay to stay, so I clasp my hands together and smile up at him.

"Please, Inuyasha?" I innocently try a begging routine just in case he has any plans to refuse. "It would make us both so happy if you would stay!"

"Heh, if you say so!" He gives a toothy grin as he turns back to my mom and then bows his head to her. "Thanks, Mrs Higurashi!"

When my mom heads back in the kitchen, Buyo walks into the dining room and meows up at us. Inuyasha takes one look at the cat instantly kneels down with a smile. As he starts to play with Buyo, I walk into the kitchen with a smile and laugh. I decide to see if my mom needs any help with dinner but when I ask her, I can see that almost everything is ready to eat already. She ends up sending me back into the dining room to set the table, though. While I set the table, grandpa and Sota come in. Sota instantly rushes to Inuyasha's side as he has been during the past few weeks. I don't know why, but Sota treats Inuyasha like his older brother. He didn't even do that with Koga when I was dating him. I guess I'm just glad to see the two get along.

"Sota, Inuyasha! Go get cleaned up for dinner." Before I head back into the kitchen I give them a heads up that dinner will be on the table any minute. "Mom should be done in just a few minutes, so hurry up."

The two look at me for a moment before they shrug to each other and head out of the dining room. While they're washing up for dinner, I help mom get everything on the table for dinner. Soon enough, we're all sitting around the table eating this delicious dinner. Outside the sun is barely peeking over the horizon, so the night of the new moon will start soon. Inuyasha is already too busy eating to notice anything at all. As the sun disappears, something odd starts to happen, though. Inuyasha's dog ears disappear at the same time as the sun. I blink, not understanding what happened, but then his hair goes white to black. Is he turning human? Is this something that happens to half demons? I must have started staring unconsciously, because Inuyasha notices and looks at me.

"You okay over there, Kagome?" He raises an eyebrow in question. If he had his dog ears right now, they would be twitching as he watches me. I can feel a little bit of heat rising to my cheeks and quickly try to cover for it.

"Oh, it's nothing!" I wave my hand almost as if to shoo off his question, as I smile in a joking manner. "I guess it's just that you're enjoying dinner so much that I can't help but watch you. It makes me happy to see, honestly."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." He turns to my mom and smiles brightly. "This is really great, Mrs Higurashi! Thanks again for dinner."

After that, the rest of dinner is pretty silent. I keep glancing at Inuyasha, still curious about what's happening, but he doesn't seem to notice. After dinner is finished up, we all help clean up the table and put the dishes in the sink. While Sota helps mom wash the dishes, I pull Inuyasha into the hallway to talk to him. In the process, I notice that human ears have appeared on either side of his head to replace his dog ears. Before either of us can say a word, I find myself patting the top of Inuyasha's head, where his dog ears should be. He attempts to swat away my hand and complains.

"Kagome what are you-" As he pushes my hand off the top of his head, he feels for himself that his ears have disappeared. "Oh dammit, Kagome!"

"What's going on, Inuyasha?" I can feel my eyes widen, shocked by everything that's happened so far. Instead of answering me right away, he takes a look outside to see the that night sky is missing the moon.

"How could I forget it was the night of the new moon?" He closes the door and looks back at me, looking a little mad. "Well, I guess I couldn't hide it from _you_ forever, just don't spread this around to anyone!" He comes closer to me and starts to talk quietly. "All half demons go through this once a month, and it just happens to be the night of the new moon for me. You could probably tell, but I'm completely human, and will be until sunrise."

"Inuyasha, why haven't you told me this before?" I look up at him in worry. He seems so anxious about this that it makes me worry about him.

"Kagome... This is my most vulnerable time. If other demons found out about this, they would probably come after me and kill me. I don't even go home on these nights because of my brother! I can't just tell anyone this sort of thing." He looks away from me, clearly upset by the situation at hand.

"Inuyasha, you're safe here, though!" My hand hesitates before resting on his shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him. "You know I wouldn't tell anyone about this, but I understand why you didn't want me to know about it." He faces me again, looking a little surprised but I can tell that he's trying to hide it. "If my mom hears that you and your brother had a fight, she might let you stay the night. Sota is going to beg her for sure, so you can just stay in his room."

I take Inuyasha's hand and lead him back into the kitchen. My mom listens to my half fake explanation about Inuyasha and his brother having a fight, since she can't really know that Inuyasha is a half demon. Then I ask her if he could possibly stay the night seeing as he has nowhere else to go. Once she and Sota has heard everything, Sota instantly begins to beg our mom to let Inuyasha stay the night. Before Sota could start to beg, I see her hesitation, but Sota pushes all the right buttons. She agrees to let Inuyasha stay the night and tells him that he can sleep in Sota's room. Sota drags Inuyasha upstairs so that they can get ready for bed.

I slowly make my way upstairs and to my bedroom. It's been a pretty long day, and I'm ready for a nice bath and then bed. As I find my pajamas, I can hear Inuyasha and Sota arguing in the bathroom. Pretty soon they come out of the bathroom and Sota tells me goodnight. Inuyasha on the other hand grumbles about having to spend the night with Sota. The only thing I can think to tell him is that it won't be so bad once Sota falls asleep, and to just give it a try. After he stalks off to Sota's room, I finally take over the bathroom for my bath. I run a nice, hot bath and decide to soak in the warmth for a while. While I nearly doze off in my bath, Sota is in his room snoring but I can hear footsteps crossing the hall. Upon hearing this, I get out of the bath, drain the water, dry myself off, and put my pajamas on.

I walk back to my room quietly, not sure if someone is in there. When I peek around the doorway, I see Inuyasha sitting on my bed. His legs are crossed over one another, much like his arms, and his eyes are closed as he leans against the wall. I don't know if he's asleep but I don't want to bother him, so I tiptoe into the room. Inuyasha opens one eye and looks at me as if I'm doing something weird.

"What are you doing?" He sounds really weary. Something feels different about Inuyasha right now, and it isn't just that he's completely human.

"I wasn't sure if you were asleep. I just didn't want to bother you if you were." I walk over to the bed and sit down next to him. "Can't take Sota's snoring, huh?"

"I don't see how anyone in this house can stand it!" He scoffs as he leans away from the wall and yawns. He really is tired so I need to get him some place where he can actually sleep.

"Inuyasha why don't you take my bed tonight?" I stand up from the bed and walk over to my closet. It takes a minute of digging, but I find my sleeping bad and pull it out. "I'll sleep on the floor for the night."

"Are you sure, Kagome?" He kind of stumbles across the words, making it clear that he's half asleep. He stretches out his arms and legs and just flops over on the bed. I walk over to the bed and throw a blanket over Inuyasha before I grab a pillow.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha." I run a hand over his head and smooth out the blanket over him. Then I lay out my sleeping bag and pillow and lay down to sleep as well.

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><p><strong>Okay, really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for the support, it makes me love you readers more and more with each chapter.<strong>

** I have most of the next chapter planned out, I just have to get it to work out in my head. I hope to have it up for you guys soon, though!**


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